Two Steps Back
by H.E. Gray
Summary: One person can make all the difference. AU, timetravel, Sasuke adopts Naruto.
1. Part 1, 1 of 6

**Disclaimer: **_Not mine, apart from the parts that are. (i.e., plot idea – I think – and various characters that will turn up over the story). So, basically, anything you don't recognise._

**Warnings: **_Some bad language. Emo-angst on Sasuke's part._

**A/N: **_I probably shouldn't be starting a new story, but this got in my head and refused to leave me alone. Updates will be sporadic, I'm afraid to say, as I have several other stories I'm working on. Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated._

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**TWO STEPS BACK**  
_Now that it is all over, Sasuke repents – and is given his second chance. Time-travel; Sasuke adopts Naruto._

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Even here, over a year after the final invasion of Konoha, Sasuke could smell the blood. He thought that it would last forever, the only reminder that this place had been the most powerful of the Hidden Villages; a sickly, sweet smell reminiscent of death, mingling in the air with iron blood that had sunk into the ground and stained the soils red. Once, he would have been unbothered by the stench.

Now, it made him sick.

It reminded him of everything he had done. Taunted him with memories and visions and flashes of _what he had done wrong_. Of how _vengeance was not as sweet as he had thought_. Of how _telling Naruto that he had failed did not make him feel strong_. Of how _killing Sakura because she was in the way did not make him feel happy. _Of how _Kakashi being forced to kneel to him did not make him feel triumphant._ Of how _he'd do anything, oh God, anything, to get his best friend back._

"Such a _sight_," Kabuto murmured with soft glee, from where he stood behind Sasuke, jerking him out of his thoughts. "Would you not agree, Sasuke-sama? Konoha, ruined, burnt to the ground... I don't think I could ever tire of seeing it."

"Mockery does not suit you, Kabuto," Sasuke said, his voice the soft monotone it always was, a hint of warning in the tone. Even after Orochimaru had died, Kabuto had stayed faithful – but Sasuke did not know why, and that bothered him more than he was willing to admit. To show that kind of loyalty, only to render it useless with constant snide comments hidden underneath a veil of politeness... Kabuto was neither sane, nor a coward. Sasuke suspected that Kabuto was more than a little in love with death, to be truthful; just as Naruto had been, just as Kakashi had been, just as the very best of ninjas all were.

Naruto had been _wonderful_ in his recklessness and golden, vicious joy though, chasing after his own death with laughter and shouts and wild, wild, determination. Kabuto was simply there, teetering on the edge of insanity, with nowhere else to go; it wasn't an addiction for him, but an obsession, morbid and uncontrollable, sinking into him and sapping his strength like some grotesque parasite. Sasuke suspected he despised Kabuto for this, although he wasn't entirely sure anymore. He found sometimes that it was- very difficult to understand his own emotions, what he felt for others. It was easier to bury the troublesome thoughts away and ignore them. He found that he was burying a lot of things recently.

-_Naruto stares at him, his blue eyes wide and glassy, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He is not breathing-_

Sasuke breathed out, slowly. A breeze rippled past him, making his coat billow out in what he knew to be a dramatic fashion – and he could not help but imagine how the scene would look. A tall man, dark hair cropped within an inch of his skull, standing atop of the Hokages' heads, the sun low in the sky, casting long shadows, while his trench coat whipped around him; the man had a grim expression on his face, but that would be overshadowed by the crisp white bandages that covered his eyes, a stark contrast to all the shifting colours...

He let out a noise, halfway between amusement and self-mockery, and heard Kabuto shuffle behind him. He wondered what the man was thinking briefly-

-_Jiraiya is dying, has crawled away from Orochimaru's limp body, the blood pooling around him. He sees Sasuke and laughs-_

-and then decided that he didn't care. Kabuto was a nothing, his subordinate who'd sworn away undying loyalty to someone now dead. He was useful, from time to time, and he didn't question Sasuke when it really mattered – had removed Sasuke's one remaining eye less than a month ago, unbothered by the seemingly self-destructive command. Sasuke was assured that it was a very neat job; nothing like the scarred mess that the other one was.

Sasuke was not bothered by the aesthetics of the matters, though. His eye had served its purpose-

_-"Is it worth it?" Jiraiya says, in between short gasps, trying to keep from laughing once more. "Is- all this worth your mangekyou sharingan? If you ever get your revenge, will it make all this okay?" There is a wild grin on his face-_

_-_and once he had completed his (_not a dream, an ambition)_, all it served to do was bring up things he would prefer not to think of.

Was he a coward? he wondered. He never ran from a battle, always flung himself into it with an arrogant confidence that took his breath away now that he thought back on it. He never ran from anyone, refused to bend knee even to Orochimaru when he had been alive. For all he never ran, though, he hid from himself. He refused to face the facts, ignored the burning sensation that would have once accompanied the desire to cry, had his tear ducts not been destroyed.

He was afraid of himself.

How pathetic.

To think; he was the culmination of years of breeding. He was the result of the once-strong Uchiha clan; the strongest shinobi to ever come from that line, now that he had killed that man. He was what came of destroying the dreams of others, to push his own forward. He was who he was, because Naruto (_Oh God, Naruto_) had been unable to kill him; not once but twice. Had watched as Sasuke shoved his arm through his chest, blue eyes so accepting, showing nothing of the ninja who had fought so brilliantly bare minutes before.

Because he knew that he wouldn't, couldn't, hurt his friend, and he knew Sasuke would no longer stop at anything when it came to his revenge.

"My entire life," Sasuke murmured in such a quiet voice that Kabuto had to strain to hear him. "My entire life was _wasted_, chasing after that man, and I destroyed their lives in the process." He raised a hand to the bandages covering his empty eye sockets and shook his head once, to clear the thoughts. "Leave Kabuto."

"But Sasuke-sama," the man began, and his voice was like oil.

"Leave," Sasuke repeated, and he didn't move until he heard Kabuto retreating across the rocks and away from the edge where Sasuke stood so precariously.

_Sakura_, he thought. He didn't care much for her, for all that she had offered to betray everything for him. Her eyes, so desperate at the beginning – but at the end, so cold, so determined that Sasuke meant _nothing_ to her, that Sasuke found he couldn't feel that much guilt for her. He had not _enjoyed _it, but...

_Kakashi_, he thought. A mentor, but one who had focused so much on him that he neglected his other students; forced them into finding their own paths. Sasuke resented him; resented him for his own sake – that Kakashi had been so certain that Sasuke would be the one to succeed him, indulging in the tendencies that an idiot twelve-year-old boy had lived his life around – and resented him for Naruto's sake. There had been a certain vindication in becoming better than the one who had trained him, but no triumph. It had not been worth it.

_Naruto, _he thought. And that was where all the pain stemmed from, wasn't it? Someone who hadn't wanted anything from him, always challenging him, making an idiot of himself. Naruto had never _expected_ with his eyes, had never _clung_, but had sacrificed everything he ever had or wanted, because of Sasuke's self-importance, and, for all that, could never bring himself to kill the one he considered a friend.

He had never faltered.

_I wish I could change things for him,_ Sasuke thought with regret, as with calm confidence he stepped forward. It was time he stopped running from himself. He didn't know where the edge was, but after one step, two steps, three steps, he could feel the empty air with one foot.

He didn't think they'd accept him into the afterlife with them. He knew that they would turn away from him. Maybe Naruto, though, Naruto who knew what it was like to be shunned, Naruto who had never given up...

Maybe Naruto would let him in, and maybe they would talk and understand one another, and maybe everything would be alright in the end, like it all was in the beginning.

He took the final step and let himself fall, the air whistling past him as he tumbled, automatically moving into a free-fall position. _I wish I could change things,_ he thought again. _For him. Because he deserves it._

He never remembered hitting the ground.

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**END PROLOGUE**

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	2. Part 1, 2 of 6

**Disclaimer: **_Not mine, apart from the bits that are. The character you don't recognise in this chapter is mine. I'm not entirely sure if I want to keep them though. -eyes them suspiciously-_

**Warnings: **_Original characters, original characters' foul mouths, various other bad language and flashback!emo-joy. Complete lack of action.  
_

**A/N: **_Aha. Ahahaha. Longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfic (7,009 words, without title, etc). Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen. It's really, really difficult writing descriptions and stuff while omitting sight. -makes face- Future pairings are currently unknown to me, only the first part of the story (i.e., this, and the next four chapters) will be told from Sasuke's POV and I am working on From Six, rewriting the chapters, etc. Check out my livejournal to know more. Thanks to everyone who reviewed; I appreciated all your comments. _

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**Chapter One**

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Sasuke woke to the unfamiliar pricking of sharp grass against his back. He could feel the sun beating down on his face, and the song of birds flying far above. Somewhere in the background, some distance away, there were the sounds of a settlement; too far to separate the noises, but close enough to recognise them as the pleasant babble of security and contentment rather than the screams and shouts of panic he well knew.

He breathed in deeply through his noise, surrounded by the scent of healthy plants and nature. Was this heaven? It certainly seemed like it, the feeling of languid ease slipping into his very body and keeping him in place, relaxing in the warmth of what he hesitantly identified as the morning sun. He tilted his head to the side, letting the grass press against one cheek to form a criss-cross pattern.

Would Naruto come? If this was heaven, then maybe he had been allowed in, and maybe Naruto would find it in him to forgive Sasuke, and maybe everything would be okay. He sighed softly, ignoring the faint throbbing of his eyes and the feeling of some phantom pressure on his limbs, as if he had been forced through space. The feeling was reminiscent of the teleportation jutsu every jounin knew, and he wondered mildly why that was.

A bug was crawling up his arm; he could feel the soft coolness of its body. _A caterpillar?_ he wondered, then, _why am I thinking of this? _His mind felt sort of disconnected, in the way that reminded him of being half-drunk but not drunk enough to dance on tables. He raised his left hand and flicked it off his arm, allowing his hand to flop back into its previous position, too relaxed to sit up and find out any information.

"Hey!" a strident voice called across the field. _Female,_ Sasuke hazily identified it as, unable to force his limbs into moving. _Young adult_. It was brash and loud, with a harsh quality to it that nearly grated in his ears. Not one that would attract the opposite sex, that was for sure. "Hey, you! Civilians ain't allowed in the training zones!"

Training zones? he wondered. That... clashed with his previous observations. He couldn't imagine heaven having training areas, after all. Wasn't it supposed to be a place of peace? There was something wrong with this scenario, but somehow he couldn't make himself move into a defensive stance; just lay there, wishing the voice would go away.

"You even listening to me, bastard?" the voice demanded harshly, and Sasuke could feel the the chakra signal moving closer at a quick pace. She'd be standing over him in a couple of moments, he thought, and bit back a groan as a toe prodded his ribs. That was foolish. If she was standing close enough to kick him, then she was probably well within his reach, which meant that he would be able to stab her in the foot or something, if he particularly wanted to.

"I'm trying not to," he admitted in a rare moment of honesty, his voice blank and emotionless even to his own ears. The person standing above him seemed taken aback at this, before she made a noise of outrage. It took her a few moments to compose herself (and God, she reminded him far too much of that woman; what was her name – Anko?)

_-"Tell me where your fucking master is, Uchiha boy, and I'll let you live," she says with a sneer on her face, and he turns to face her, smirking._

"_Do you really think you could beat me?" he asks contemptuously-_

"Look, civilian, you're on Leaf training grounds," the woman began to say, and then cut herself off. "Fuck, what the _hell _ happened to your eyes?"

...Had she only just noticed the bandages? His mind was too busy processing her other words to be properly disdainful however; Leaf training grounds hadn't existed in over a year. There was something strange going on, and he felt his body trying to adjust into a battle situation, somehow unable to make his muscles co-operate with him.

"Your bandages are fucking coveredwith blood," she said, her tone a mix between incredulousness and wry amusement, clearly trying not to laugh, unaware of Sasuke's inner conflict. "You should probably see a medic about that."

Sasuke paused, his thoughts diverted, and raised a hand to his bandages. They were bleeding? The wounds had healed up long ago though – but, now that he thought about it, he could smell the iron of dried blood, and he could feel the dark crust that was forming. It was mildly alarming that he hadn't noticed such a thing; he had probably become too accustomed to the scent.

Carefully, he sat up and began to unravel the knot at the back of his head. He could hear the woman make a sound of interest, and her chakra signal leant forward slightly (was she some kind of sadist?) to watch. He tugged the soiled bandages off, placing them to one side, and made no noise as she breathed in sharply.

"Do they appear to be bleeding?" he asked her, and she sounded thoughtful when she replied.

"They look fine," she said, and there was a note of bewilderment in her harsh voice, before it turned more mischievous. "Well, you know, as fine as empty eye sockets can look anyway. Think a couple of blood vessels burst in the back or something. You got any more bandages?"

Sasuke drew up a sleeve of his coat to show the bandages he had become far too used to wrapping there, and they both fell into silence as he began to unravel them. The woman was the first to speak.

"Name's Shizuka," she said. "Hiroshi Shizuka, genin. Were you a ninja or something?"

Sasuke stayed silent for a long few seconds. He didn't recognise that name at all. Running through every Leaf ninja he had ever met (and he had to admit that there weren't that many, because he killed most of them before getting their names) he found he just couldn't place it. She sounded old to be a genin, too. "Where am I?" he asked, finally, and Shizuka seemed to miss the fact that he was avoiding the question until he had further information.

"Konoha, 'course. You hit your head or something when you got your eyes removed?"

Konoha. This was wrong. If he didn't recognise her, and Konoha was wiped out (_burnt to the ground, _his mind supplied)... Sasuke was silent for a few moments as he pulled the last of the bandages off his arm. _In unknown territory_, his mind classified for him instantly. Take advantage of whatever they give you, and make sure you give nothing of value back. Keep your name hidden, along with all other personal details possible. She was already aware of his weakness, but she didn't need to know of any... emotional flaws he had.

"You might say that," he said at last, lie coming fluidly to his tongue. "I've had some difficulty after my eye was taken."

She was silent, and Sasuke hoped that she wouldn't analyse his words too deeply. At the moment, however, she wasn't exactly giving off the impression of being a very good ninja, and so was probably falling for the most basic of infiltration tactics – _give only the barest details and let them fill everything else in themselves._

"Could you put the bandages on?" he asked, but his voice made it more of an order than a request. "And I'm... Hideyoshi Kenshin."

Shizuka audibly relaxed at that point, taking the material from his hand and beginning to tie it roughly around his head. Her loops were too sloppy for her to be a medic-nin, and Sasuke was finding it difficult to place her exactly. She sounded around twenty, but her skills clearly declared her in the lower ranks of ninjas – and if she didn't have any specific talents, such as that of a medic-nin, then it was hard to see how she had the authority to throw anyone out of a training field. _At least,_ he thought blandly, _she's forgotten about that_.

"You used to be a ninja?" she asked, going back to her original question, and at least her knots were decent, if what he felt was correct. Tight and strong, better than Naruto's had been. He remembered the day they were put into teams – then tore himself out of memories.

"Mm," Sasuke said to her question, then elaborated. She would find out soon enough that he wasn't from Konoha (or wasn't anymore. He tried to kick back the thought that suggested he might be on the missing-nin list, and in which case he was in trouble), and to deceive her over this would just cause fatal distrust. "I'm one of the wandering ninjas. Never got taught in a village." It was unlikely, but not overly so. There were around one, one and a half hundred nin who were born off missing-nin; taught by their parents, and with no other talents. Generally cheap to hire, but without the more advanced skills of village trained ninjas.

"You ain't got anywhere to stay then?" she asked, and she sounded more interested than idle curiosity would allow.

"No," Sasuke confirmed, wondering how to get the date out of her. Time travel – the idea was beginning to poke its head up, refusing to be put down. If Konoha was around, still in one piece... It was impossible, but- if it wasn't...

(_I wish I could change things, _he remembered. _For him_. Was it possible that someone, something, had answered his wish?)

"Huh," she said thoughtfully, then grasped his hand. Sasuke jerked out of her grip before he realised what he was doing, leaping to his feet and a few steps back in a graceful movement – and Shizuka laughed, a coarse, rough sound. "Guess you weren't lying 'bout being a ninja then." Sasuke could still feel the scrape of roughened skin, callouses and old blisters holding onto him. He _hated _people touching him. Even Kabuto, when getting rid of his eye hadn't-

Sasuke kept his face impassive. "A test?" he asked, and she said nothing, but he could imagine the smirk on her face.

"How good were you?" she asked, and he nearly frowned at the sudden change in topic. He never considered telling her the entire truth; that would get him up in front of the Hokage faster than anyone could blink.

"Good," he said flatly, and she seemed to approve of his almost-arrogant statement.

"Cool," she said, and he could tell by her tone of voice that she was scheming. He suspected that it wouldn't be very complex. She didn't seem the type – too blunt and too crude to come up with a web of manipulation that some ninjas had gloried in. Orochimaru in particular liked that style. "C'mon, you can stay with me."

She began to walk off, clearly forgetting he was blind, and Sasuke had to drag his mind out of the _you can stay with me_ part. What idiot-?

"You must be a very bad ninja if you trust people this easily," Sasuke said carefully. There was a silence, and he translated that as '_she's stopped and is watching me, probably upset at what I've said'_. He'd learnt to interpret quiet after a while; the different tensions that hung in the air could be told apart if one had enough time and concentration to do so.

She was breathing slowly and softly, obviously trying to keep her emotions in check. A pause – he imagined her flashing a bright grin, from an otherwise blank face – and she tried to defend herself. "You're blind," she said. "I'm not such a bad ninja that I can't deal with a blind man, arsehole."

Sasuke almost flinched at how easily she dismissed him; not entirely for himself, but for her as well. How on earth did she survive this long if she continually took things at face value? "Just because I am blind," he said in his steady monotone, "Does not mean that I am helpless. Do not underestimate people. It will only get you killed."

Shizuka let out a long, drawn-out sigh, and then laughed loudly, as if trying to convince herself of something. "You going to kill me or something? If you did, you wouldn't have anywhere to stay." There was a rustling, and she began to move again, Sasuke keeping pace with what his ears were telling him. "Besides," she continued in a lower voice. "You kinda remind me of my da."

"I don't think I'm old enough to be your father," Sasuke said drily. "You're how old?"

"Eighteen," Shizuka said, and Sasuke was glad of the bandages covering the top half of his face, keeping his wince from being obvious. Eighteen and still a genin? That was atrocious. "You give the lectures just like he does though." She snickered suddenly, and imitated a lower, gruffer voice. "You shouldn't trust people so easily. Don't underestimate anyone." Reverting to her normal voice, she kept speaking. "You don't look that much older than me, though. And you're a damn sight better-looking than my da."

"Hm," Sasuke said, making no effort to put emotion into his voice. Shizuka laughed again, and then yelped.

"Watch out!" she called, and Sasuke stopped mid-step, one hand reaching out to touch the bark of a large tree. That was embarrassing. He'd nearly walked into the stupid thing. Shizuka shuffled slightly, and then, hesitantly, asked, "You want me to guide you?" There was a hint of amusement in her voice though, suggesting that she was thinking of his previous statements. ('Don't underestimate me,' he says, before walking into a tree. Sasuke felt like slamming his head against a wall for his own idiocy.)

Sasuke said nothing, unable to overcome his own pride to that point, and she was obviously laughing at him. "You paranoid about people touching you or something?" she asked. "You leapt away fast enough when I grabbed your hand. " Sasuke stayed silent, and Shizuka shrugged. "Suit yourself. You ain't going to be getting the girls with that attitude."

"Girls tend to be put off by the scars more than anything," Sasuke said drily. This Shizuka was an _idiot_, albeit one who didn't act like the typical girl. She reminded him more of Naruto, to be honest.

"Bollocks," Shizuka said cheerfully, then, "Turn left now." Sasuke followed her directions, trying not to flush. Normally Kabuto lead him, flaring his chakra just enough to be obvious in where he was going. "I reckon," she continued, when they'd moved onto what felt like a road, cobbles beneath their feet. "That scars add character. Sure, the gaping eye sockets are a _bit_ of a turn off, but I can deal. It's your attitude that puts me off."

"I'm not looking for a girlfriend," Sasuke said bluntly, and Shizuka snickered.

"Wasn't suggesting you were," she said, turning right, and stopping after a few steps. "Home sweet home." Sasuke drew to a stop beside her, and waited patiently as she unlocked the door, kicking what sounded to be a few traps out of the way without hesitation. "My teammates," she said by way of explanation. "I got stuck with a new genin team, and they're a bunch of brats. Keep on trying to get me to screw up."

She moved through a thin corridor, which lead straight into what Sasuke thought was a living room. Flopping down on a sofa, she grumbled at him to do the same, and he felt his way to a chair and sat down. "Bet you're wondering why I'm still a genin, right?" she asked, and Sasuke thought about this for a moment.

"Some people never get promoted to chuunin," he said by way of answer, and she snarled.

"Well, I _ain't_ going to be one of them. Just 'cause I'm a kunoichi, and 'cause I'm shit at all this 'seduction' stuff, everyone reckons I'm going nowhere." There was a lot of pent-up frustration in her voice. "I was told to go and _patrol_ the training zones, 'cause my jounin-sensei wanted to teach the other two and didn't want me in the way."

Sasuke kept silent, wondering at his luck. He'd somehow found the one person who would take him in, regardless of the fact that he was a blind ex-nin – and now he had to listen to her whine. Pathetic.

"I ain't that great at taijutsu and ninjutsu, but I want to get better," she said firmly. "I just need to find a teacher who'll spend time with me, y'know? The academy screws kunoichi over; our taijutsu and stuff is almost never as good as the guys, and all the teachers I find say I should work with genjutsu 'cause I'm a girl."

"The chuunin exams?" Sasuke asked.

"Keep getting knocked out, 'cause I have different teams every two or three years. We fail the first couple of times as a team, then I keep on getting put up against people who have my weaknesses. And, well, you know how it is." From the rustling of her clothes, Sasuke suspected she shrugged. "Shit happens. I just ain't getting promoted."

Sasuke paused, and had the inkling of a suspicion. "And this would have something to do with why you asked me to stay." It was a statement, not a question, but Shizuka answered anyway.

"Y'could say that." She took a deep breath, then sighed. "You said you were good, right Kenshin?"

Sasuke took a moment to associate the name with himself, and then tilted his head to one side. "I _was _good," he answered. "How good I am now..." He trailed off, leaving the implications clear.

"Doesn't matter," Shizuka said. "Either way, you can probably teach me more than my new jounin-sensei. He's a dick. Chews on a needle half the time, and spends the other half flirting with whatever girls he can find." Her voice was decidedly disgruntled, and Sasuke kept his face blank. "He doesn't care when the brats have a go at me either. Teamwork, my arse."

Sasuke considered this. "I came to the village to find someone," he admitted at last, wondering how he could manipulate this. "I was told that someone my friend swore to protect might be alive. Finding this person is my first priority, but I would be willing to train you with whatever I can – on the condition you listen to what I say, as if I were your teacher.

"Sure thing, Kenshin-_sensei_," Shizuka mocked, but there was a note of hope in her voice. "When can we start? And who're you looking for? I can get into pretty much any records if necessary..."

Well now. This was the moment of truth, wasn't it? "A boy named... Uzumaki Naruto, I think." There was an almost painful hope twisting inside of him, as he waited for her response, analysing her breathing and every other noise she made in an attempt to get the real answer.

Shizuka didn't make a response for a while, her breathing steady. She shuffled slightly on the sofa, probably arranging herself in a thinking pose. Then, there was an intake of breath – a moment of realisation. "I know who you're talking about," she said at last. "The Kyu- uh, the Uzumaki kid. Blond, right? Blue eyes?"

The Uzumaki _kid_. Yes, he had a chance, he had a fucking chance and there was no way in _hell _he was going to ruin this, so he better speak up to make sure Shizuka didn't suspect him. "That... was how my friend described him, yes," Sasuke said, his voice sounding unsteady to himself, but Shizuka didn't seem to notice. "Three scars on each cheek?" He continued when she made an affirmative sound. "How old would he be now?"

"Shit," Shizuka said. "I don't- Wait, Kyuubi attacked before my ma died, so..." She muttered under her breath for a few seconds, calculating the age, and then seemed to decide. "Seven."

Seven years old. That was... perfect. He could change everything for Naruto; prepare him for every hardship he might have and make sure that he survived, whatever happened. There was the problem of money to solve, but Shizuka seemed happy to let him share her house as long as he taught her, and he still had some skills left over. He could do this.

"How 'bout this," Shizuka said, slowly, taking advantage of his silence. "_You _teach me a new jutsu, then I'll go find the kid and drag him back here so you can do whatever you need to do." She stopped. "You ain't going to kill him, right? 'Cause I don't let people kill kids in my house. You have to do it somewhere else."

"I'm not going to kill him," Sasuke said, unable to keep the indignant note from his voice. "I... my friend swore to protect him, and I'll do it in my friend's place."

"Huh," Shizuka said, "Doesn't bother me one way or 'nother. What jutsu you going to teach me?"

"I didn't even agree," Sasuke said, and Shizuka huffed.

"You said you were going to teach me, so you're going to have to teach me a jutsu sooner or later, _sensei_," she pointed out, and Sasuke nodded.

"Very well," he muttered. "I'll assume you know tree-climbing and water-walking-"

"Water-walking?" Shizuka interrupted, and Sasuke turned his head to face her. What had she been _doing_ in the years she'd graduated from the academy?

"I'll take that as a no, then. Is there any water nearby?" he asked, and Shizuka bounded to her feet.

"Yeah, there's a pond out back," she said, sounding more enthusiastic by the second. "C'mon!" She grabbed hold of his arm, and Sasuke could feel a strong grip through the fabric. At least, from what he could assume, Shizuka didn't slouch when it came to working for strength. He did not appreciate her touching him however, although he kept an impassive face.

She dragged him through what he assumed to be a kitchen (after he'd walked into the oven, because Shizuka had failed to adjust her grip properly) and out into what seemed to be a decent-sized garden, although overgrown. The grass brushed at his shins, but Shizuka didn't seem considered by this, still moving.

"Here," she said, stopping abruptly – and Sasuke had to side-step quickly to avoid her back. "The pond." She paused. "I'm not going to have to get in it, am I? There's a load of scum floating on it."

"Only if you fail," Sasuke said, and then stepped forward, forcing the chakra through his feet as he moved into the area he guessed was about the middle. "There's a trick to this. Keep your feet as flat as possible, and make sure the chakra you push out is constant. Focus on your feet, not on anything else. Don't get distracted."

"No problem," Shizuka said confidently. A few moments went by, before there was a splash, and Shizuka was swearing viciously. Sasuke allowed himself a smirk at that.

"Keep trying," he said, and grumbling, she got up.

A couple of hours later, Shizuka crawled out of the pond after her latest attempt. She claimed that she'd lasted about twenty seconds on top, but Sasuke doubted her. He might be blind, but he wasn't stupid, and from what he felt of her chakra signal, her control was poor – and she didn't have Naruto's excessive store of chakra to make up for such a flaw, either.

"I'm heading in for today," she mumbled. "If I show you where food is, can you cook when I go get the kid?"

Sasuke felt his heart skip, and Shizuka managed to interpret his expression, because her voice turned grumpy (or grumpier; she seemed in a constant state of irritation with everyone and everything).

"I ain't going back on a promise. You started teaching me this shit, so I'll find you the kid. From what I've heard of the brat, he shouldn't be too difficult to find, anyway."

"...I should be able to cook the food, if it's preprepared," Sasuke offered, and Shizuka snorted.

"I got some stuff you can shove in the oven. Friend makes it for me. She doesn't reckon I can cook without poisoning myself."

"Is she right?"

"Probably," Shizuka admitted, without a hint of shame.

------------

"Hey, hey, Shizuka-nee-chan! Where's this guy you said wanted to meet me?" A loud, young voice shouted through the house, and Sasuke nearly dropped the plate he was carrying. It really was... He took a few deep breaths, waiting for the footsteps to come running in, tense in a way he didn't really understand as Shizuka shouted back at Naruto.

"I am not your sister! And stop fucking running!" There was a pause, and then she swore again. "That wasn't an invitation for you to follow me that closely- Oh, screw it. Kenshin!"

"Through here," Sasuke said, managing to make his voice carry without shouting.

Shizuka stalked through the rooms to the kitchen, but Sasuke's ears were focused on the light pattering of smaller feet, and the excited breaths. _Naruto_, he thought.

_-"Whatever you do, Sasuke, you're still my friend. Stop being such a dick and come home," Naruto says, eighteen now, and newly promoted to jounin._

"_I haven't killed Itachi," Sasuke says bluntly. "Only Orochimaru can give me the power I need."_

"_So, what. You're going to kill your brother with someone else's power? Don't seem like the 'almighty avenger' to me." Naruto pulls a face, ignoring the sounds of the Leaf ANBU approaching. "You missed Sakura's wedding. Shoulda seen Lee crying about being beaten by a civvy."_

"_Naruto..." Sasuke says, his body tensing and ready to run._

"_Oh, alright then. Scram. I didn't see ya." Naruto is pouting slightly-_

Shizuka's voice rudely brought him out of his reverie, snapping with clear irritation, "Here's the brat, where's the food?"

"In the oven," Sasuke said blandly, and then there was a tugging on his trousers and the young boy – Naruto, not just any young boy, piped up. "What happened to your eyes, mister?" he asked, and Shizuka snorted in the background.

"They got damaged in a fight," Sasuke said, putting the plate down before he crouched to what he knew had to be face-to-face with Naruto. He could hear the sharp intake of a breath, before Naruto hesitantly spoke up – and that was strange, because to Sasuke, Naruto had never been hesitant over anything.

"Why didja want to meet me?" he asked, shyly, and there was nervousness in his voice too.

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell the truth, unthinking, and then pause. _Good idea, _said a snide voice inside of him. _Tell a seven-year-old that you killed him in the future, so now you want to look after him because you regret it. That's really going to make him trust you._

"A friend of mine," he began, slowly. "Wanted to protect you. He... died, and," he forced his voice to be emotionless, calm, "And it was my fault. He asked me to protect you for him."

"Oh," Naruto whispered, and Sasuke could almost imagine he could see the look of sadness creep over his face for a second. "Who was your friend? And what's your name?"

"My friend was called Haru," Sasuke said, and a sudden thought came to him. The Hokage kept an eye on Naruto, didn't he? He'd definitely be suspicious of the story Sasuke was giving, but if he added in a few details... He'd consider it later. "I'm Kenshin."

"Speech time is over," Shizuka said, as she pulled the (slightly-burnt) food out of the oven, wafting the smell over Sasuke's way. "It looks... mostly... edible, so c'mon, everyone sit down. Yeah, you too brat." Sasuke assumed that Naruto had looked quizzical at this point.

When they were all seated, it was Shizuka who began peppering Sasuke with questions, Naruto too busy eating. "You know any decent fire jutsus?" she asked.

"Mm," Sasuke said, nodding. Naruto made a sound of interest, trying to speak through a mouthful of food, and, when he failed to make a comprehensible sound, swallowing and starting again.

"Wouldja teach me?" he asked eagerly, and there was the sound of Shizuka slapping him around the head.

"I asked first," she grumbled at him. "Get your own teacher."

"Shizuka-nee-chan," Naruto whined, and Shizuka growled.

"I ain't your sister!"

Sasuke stopped further arguments with a low laugh, and it was Shizuka who whistled softly. "I get the feeling this is a rare occurrence," she muttered.

"What an occurrence?" Naruto asked.

"It's a... thing," Shizuka said, lamely. "Er. Something. That happens. And, fuck, I don't know."

Sasuke chuckled again, then let his face sink back into stony blankness. "I could teach you when Shizuka is working with her team," he said. "There are conditions, however."

"Treat me as if I were your teacher," Shizuka mocked in a sing-song voice, and Sasuke nodded.

"That, and another thing." His voice was grim, and he made no attempt to change it. "Because your chakra coils have not yet developed fully, teaching you jutsus can be dangerous. If you overdraw on your chakra, you could do permanent damage to your coils." _And this is especially true because you have Kyuubi's chakra. If you drew on that, the damage to your coils could be immense. _"If you ever feel any kind of prickling through your body when using chakra, you are to stop _immediately_. Do not let it progress into the burning stage. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, sounding humbled. "I agree." There was a pause. "What's chakra?"

------------

They tidied up the remnants of the meal together, Shizuka kicking Naruto out of the house after Sasuke had told him to come back at nine tomorrow. Sasuke was already beginning to adjust to where everything was in the room – after having walked into pretty much every appliance there was at least once. Shizuka hadn't been much help, asking questions upon questions about what type of jutsus he knew. Sasuke was mildly impressed at her knowledge of the different types of jutsus – less so, when it turned out the majority of which she'd never been able to learn. He suspected it was her control that was the major problem.

"I guess I should show you the house," Shizuka said with a groan, putting the last glass away. "There's the kitchen here, living room is the room adjacent, and study to the right of the stairs. Upstairs, there's four bedrooms. Here, c'mon."

Sasuke followed her silently, as she continued to talk, and he got the feeling that it was more for her own comfort than anything else.

"Uh, yeah. You can pick a room. The one at the end is mine," Shizuka said. "There ain't anybody here 'cept me." There was a melancholy note in her voice, and it was that which let Sasuke know the exact reason why she'd let him into her home – because she wasn't used to being alone.

"Are you certain about letting me stay?" he asked. Shizuka shuffled.

"I told you I was good with it," she said. "I ain't one to go back on my word. You'd probably fit in most of my da's clothes, too, so you don't need to worry about the extra."

"Naruto might be over quite a bit," he warned, taking in the last part of her sentence and storing it in his mind, and Shizuka huffed.

"Huh. The brat ain't that bad. I'll deal," she said dismissively. "Now which room do you want?"

------------

Sasuke got the feeling that some kind of god was looking out for him. The kind of luck he had was insane – admittedly Shizuka was probably going to annoy him, but he could deal with it, especially when she was willing to give him food, board and clothes for nothing more than a few lessons. He'd pay her back, sometime, when he worked out how to get the money, but the fact that she was accepting him in like this was... unreal.

He'd consider his uncanny luck, later, her decided. Now, though, he had a child-version of Naruto watching him and hanging onto his every word. It wasn't quite like having his friend back, but it was... calming, in a way. Knowing that he was slowly fixing what had gone wrong, even if he could never redeem himself for all the damage he had done to others.

For a second, he wondered about his younger self, and then dismissed the thought. He had been an arrogant brat at this age, and would stay that way for the next thirteen years. He'd only really woken up out of his self-induced stupor when Naruto had-

-_"You__didn't dodge," Sasuke accuses hoarsely, his hand buried chest-deep, straight through Naruto's heart and rib-cage. The feeling of bone shattering beneath his hand was sickening, even more so when he withdraws it with a grotesque squelching sound, blood rapidly pouring into the hole. "You didn't dodge," he repeats, and Naruto looks at him._

"_No," he agrees, the blood bubbling up his throat, as he dies with an odd smile on his lips and his eyes fixed on Sasuke, staring straight ahead._

"_You didn't dodge!" Sasuke shouts at Naruto's body, and his hand is covered – oh god, covered – with his best friend's blood. He cannot see through his right eye-_

-died. He swallowed, and Naruto bounced ahead of him, running into the garden. "C'mon, Kenshin-sensei!" he shouted. "Teach me some cool jutsus!"

"Not yet," Sasuke said. "Calm down, and come here."

Naruto ran over to stand in front of him, and sat down, before jumping to his feet, clearly incapable of staying in one place. Sasuke nearly grinned, the floating remnants of his memory keeping him blank though. He'd taught himself how to bury a lot of emotion over the years. "I'm going to teach you the same thing I told Shizuka how to do yesterday – water-walking. Normally we'd start with tree-climbing, but that's dangerous when you don't have a lot of training in landing from jumps."

"Okay," Naruto said, his voice eager. "How do I do it?"

"First, remember if you feel any sort of tingling or prickling – what do you do?" He waited for Naruto to answer, but Naruto didn't seem to know, from his hesitation.

"I... stop?" he finally said, and Sasuke nodded.

"Otherwise it's dangerous. I'll be able to tell if you're drawing too much-"

"How?" Naruto asked, infinitely curious, and Sasuke tried not to feel irritated at the interruption. Naruto didn't know any better. He hadn't been raised by a father who believed in manners and clan honour above all.

"I'm able to sense chakra. It's a sort of sixth-sense all ninja develop once they've been using chakra long enough. And don't interrupt in future."

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled, sounding embarrassed, and Sasuke shook his head, almost regretting the stern tone he had taken.

"It's fine. Now, water-walking helps you improve your chakra control, because it's most difficult to channel chakra through your feet. What you have to do is the opposite of tree-climbing – you have to push yourself away from the water. The more surface area you push chakra from, the easier the exercise becomes."

The training went much the same way as Shizuka's had – Sasuke standing on the middle of the pond, while Naruto went charging in, maybe getting one or two steps on the water before his chakra collapsed beneath him and he went diving straight into the water. The first time that had happened, Sasuke had nearly had a heart-attack (what if he couldn't swim?), only to hear Naruto's head break through the water, gasping for air desperately and clambering out of the pond.

They paused for lunch, Naruto persuading Sasuke into cooking the two cups of instant ramen he had brought, and sat outside, discussing the training. Despite the fact that Naruto was a child now, and didn't seem to understand half of what Sasuke was saying, there was a certain comfort in his presence, only broken by the occasional 'Kenshin-sensei' used. Almost absentmindedly, Sasuke began to plan out what he was going to teach Naruto – some kind of counter for Chidori, certainly. If he remembered right, there had been a Stone nin that had managed to block his Chidori once by solidifying his skin into insanely hard armour. He might not have his sharingan anymore, but he could remember the handseals used – he'd have to practice it on his own, before he trusted himself to teach it to Naruto however. Who knew what could go wrong with it?

"Do you live alone?" he asked Naruto, chewing on the last of the noodles. Naruto stayed silent, slurping down what was left in his bowl, and Sasuke sighed. "I can't see you if you nod. You have to answer verbally."

"Oh," Naruto said. "Oops. Uh, yeah, I do. The orphanage sends money every month though, and this woman checks in every coupla months to make sure everything's okay."

"Is it?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto put his bowl to one side.

"Yeah," he said. "I get kinda lonely, but I have my plants to look after and stuff." There was false cheer in his voice, until it became real. "Sandaime-ojii-san said I could join the Academy in a month, when the next class starts up. I'm going to be a ninja, and be the best one _ever_, even better than Yondaime." He was enthusiastic, as he bounced up and down a few feet away from Sasuke. "If I'm really good, then everyone will have to acknowledge me. I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

Sasuke inclined his head, and the suspicion that Naruto was watching him warily only increased when the boy spoke up. "You're not going to laugh at me?"

"Why would I?" he asked.

"That's what everyone does when I tell 'em I want to be Hokage," Naruto said, sounding down. "But I'm going to prove them all wrong!"

"Then you better get training," Sasuke said. "Only the strongest ninjas can become a Kage, after all."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, running off to the pond, and Sasuke shook his head slightly. _I guess he's always had that dream, after all_, he thought, sensing Shizuka's presence approaching for behind him. _I couldn't imagine Naruto without it._

"You know, you ain't bad with kids," Shizuka drawled out casually, flopping down beside him.

"Just with Naruto," Sasuke said, keeping the note of fondness out of his voice. "Most of them irritate me."

"I dunno," Shizuka said. "You could, like, start a mini-ninja training course. I know a couple of people who'd sign their kids on straight away. Shikaku hates having to deal with his brat, for one."

"That doesn't sound too appealing," Sasuke said. Teaching Shikamaru? The boy might be some sort of genius, but that didn't change the fact that he was far too lazy to do anything that might ever require effort. Shizuka snorted.

"Yeah, well, it's a way to earn money, ain't it? Better than the fucking D-ranker I got. Again"

"Hm?" Sasuke asked, hearing the splash as Naruto fell in again, surfacing with a shout about 'green stuff in his hair' and 'get it off, get it _off_'.

"Yeah. Groceries for the old hag down the road. She makes us do 'em every month for her. _Damn_, but she's got a tongue and a half on her." Shizuka dumped what sounded to be a ninja belt on the ground, making a metallic clatter as the kunais knocked against a stone. "I'm going to go join the kid," she said.

"Try and learn the skill before him," Sasuke murmured, letting a note of amusement drift into his voice, and Shizuka swore at him.

Their voices melded together after a while; Shizuka's swearing and Naruto's determined shouts forming a conglomeration of blurred noise, laughter and teasing in a way that reminded him of Team Seven on its better days. Sasuke had never formed friends among Sound; they had known him as the 'vessel', knowing that to get too close to him was just to get hurt.

...It was so hard to believe this really was Konoha, and that that really was Naruto. Sasuke could piece them together, just about – see both Narutos showing the same determination to succeed, the same conviction that he could learn some 'cool jutsus' and defeat everybody with them. Thinking about jutsus... Sasuke stretched his senses out to Naruto's chakra signal, feeling it flicker slightly, and sighed. He should have known the boy wouldn't stop, even after hearing Sasuke's warnings about damaging his chakra coils. Insatiable for training, that's what he was.

"Naruto, that's enough," he called. "Your chakra is getting too low."

"Can't I just have one more try, Kenshin-sensei?" Naruto whined. "I'm nearly there."

"No," Sasuke said, hearing another muffled curse as Shizuka went splashing into the water. "That's enough now. You should probably be heading home."

Sasuke could almost _hear_ Naruto pouting, but as he couldn't see it, it didn't really affect him the way Naruto seemed to be planning. "But-" Naruto pleaded, and Sasuke sighed.

"Out. Go. I'll be here tomorrow."

"You promise?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke drew in a breath at the mixture of pain and hope in his friend's – no, not his friend, this wasn't _his_ Naruto, even though it was; not his friend, but the one he would protect beyond all else – voice. There was a shout of exultation in the background, only to be broken by a panicked yell and a splash, but they both overlooked it.

"I promise," Sasuke said solemnly, and then small arms enveloped him in a hug before Naruto fled.

------------

END CHAPTER

------------


	3. Part 1, 3 of 6

_**Disclaimer: **Not mine, apart from the bits that are. Shizuka and various other OCs are mine, but ask and I'm happy to let you use them._

_**Warnings: **Original characters, original characters' foul mouths, various other bad language and flashback!emo-joy. General lack of action._

_**A/N: **...oops. Didn't mean for this to take so long to write. Sorry. -sheepish- Slightly shorter chapter, but I thought it was better to get this up rather than waste time trying to insert an extra one thousand words. Some bad humour is present, but nothing that should have you clawing your own eyes out. Hopefully. Thanks for all the reviews (thirty four:D) and in response to some of the questions: Sasuke will not regain his eyesight, ever, because frankly, he was a powerful enough ninja that he could wreck my plans for this timeline entirely; Shizuka will never get together with Sasuke or any other main canon character (except Gai. I'm very tempted to get her together with Gai, but I suspect I'll restrain myself); I have no idea whether this will be slash or not and the title is meant to be 'Two Steps Back' (as in the saying one step forward, two steps back, for reasons you will have to figure out yourself.) I'll try to respond to some of the longer reviews with questions, but I seriously appreciate every comment made. :D_

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Sasuke could feel small hands clenching the trousers he was wearing, Naruto half-hiding behind him, and this shyness in him seemed so out-of-character. There was a hint of moisture in the air, foretelling the coming of rain, and Sasuke wondered briefly what he would do if it began to rain in his session. He would work through it himself, but these were children – Sasuke wasn't comfortable around children. Naruto was an exception because Sasuke _knew_ him, probably better than the boy would ever know himself.

Shizuka was over in the corner of the training ground, and Sasuke could hear the solid 'thunk' of her fists hitting the wooden post. Hopefully she'd remembered to wrap her hands this time – two days ago she'd come back with her knuckles bleeding after a training session, thick enough that he could smell it, and Sasuke had been forcibly been reminded-

"_Tenten!" Lee screams as Sasuke pivots, slamming his fist into her throat and feeling bones crunch. She collapses, like a puppet with its strings cut, and Lee is knocking down the Sound nin as if they are nothing, screaming and shouting incoherently about "I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"_

_Sasuke turns and leaves, and behind him he can hear the sounds of a genjutsu falling into place over the boy who once beat him. He does not look back-_

of Lee. He suspected she was punching wrong, though; there had been scratches along the length of her fingers when he had grabbed hold of her hand, clearly implying that her positioning was poor. He decided against mentioning it at that point, although he had pointed her towards a set of bandages. He'd correct her another time.

"When're they coming, Kenshin-sensei?" Naruto asked, and in his voice there was a mixture of hope, nervousness and barely suppressed excitement. Sasuke ruffled the boy's hair, feeling the slightly coarse strands and tugging out a couple of knots. He suspected Naruto didn't even own a comb, although why he was wondering about Naruto's appearance was slightly baffling to him.

"Soon," he said, and there was a faintly stern note in his voice – _patience _– that made Naruto wilt slightly under his hand. A flicker of guilt ran through him, quick as a shiver, and he ruffled Naruto's hair again in apology. What was this going to be like? He didn't like children, but he needed the money (and wasn't that a comedown for he who had never worried over it before?)

Training little children. This would be difficult. The only teaching he'd ever taken part in was in Sound, and Sasuke doubted their methods would be appreciated in the much softer Konoha – and he was _blind_. How was he going to make sure they didn't do anything stupid? Nara Shikaku had already been over to talk to him about signing Shikamaru up, and there had been a kind of doubt in his voice that had made Sasuke bristle.

"Oi, Kenshin-sensei!" Shizuka bellowed from her side, and Naruto held on tighter to Sasuke's leg, a possessive move that made Sasuke grin; a slight slip of his mouth.

He turned his head towards her, and cocked it to one side in question, and Shizuka took this as the invitation to continue that it was, walking over from where she had been training. "It's nothin' big," she said, breathing slightly hard. "I was just wonderin' why you didn't want any of the Uchihas in your trainin' sessions."

_Now _that was something that had been bothering him. When he'd heard the Uchihas were alive, he'd felt… something. Some kind of duty; that he should save the family he'd been born into. He'd even started planning how to kill Itachi in an 'accident' – which he now realised was impossible; Itachi was good enough at thirteen that he'd easily be able to defeat Sasuke who had a heavy handicap. It wasn't that which was stopping him though. It was more that he realised the Uchiha Massacre had to happen. If it didn't, then Orochimaru would have a much easier job in finding someone to act as his host, instead of concentrating on Sasuke.

If he allowed Uchihas into his sessions, he might rethink his choice, changing the future in a way that it should not be changed.

Shizuka was still waiting for a reason and, from the shuffling of her feet, she was impatient. So. A half-truth was always better than a lie, and this had been part of his reasoning. "Uchihas have a history of mental instability – their bloodline originates from mixing demon blood with the Hyuuga line," he said mildly. "I would prefer not to aid in their insanity."

There was a choking sound from Shizuka, and Naruto spoke up curiously. "Mental instablility?" he asked.

"Instability," Sasuke corrected. "They have something wrong with their minds, and they do foolish things that can be harmful to others."

"Oh," Naruto breathed, and then, "What? Why?"

Sasuke sighed. "They have a special ability called the Sharingan," he said patiently. "This allows them to remember everything that they have seen, and so they store too many memories. It gets to the point, where the brain can't remember anything more, so-"

"-It goes bang?" Naruto offered helpfully, and Sasuke snorted in amusement.

"Something like that," he said.

"I ain't heard of nothin' like that," Shizuka said uncertainly, and Sasuke shrugged, a bare movement of his shoulders.

"I wouldn't imagine it's something they want to broadcast," he replied, and tried to change the subject. "Who did you say was coming?"

"Uh," Shizuka said eloquently. "The Ino-Shika-Chou kids, some civilian brat, Takao's kid, a Morino and some others."

It was through sheer force of will alone that Sasuke managed to keep from twitching. "I see," he said in a tone of forced calm. "How exactly do you plan to become a chuunin if you can't produce a coherent report?"

"This ain't a report!" she protested, but any other complaint she might have made was silenced by Naruto's enthusiastic bouncing.

"I c'n see someone!" he said gleefully. "It's a girl!"

"Oh?" Sasuke asked, changing his grip to Naruto's shoulder to prevent him from jumping up and down.

"Yeah! She's got blonde hair, like me!" Naruto gabbled. _Ino_, Sasuke thought-

"_I don't know what I ever saw in you, traitor," she snarls opposite him. "Tell the bastard you serve that Konoha won't ever fall to him or you."_

_Sasuke stares at her, unimpressed, and for a second she is clearly unnerved-_

"You'd be Hideyoshi Kenshin?" a man's voice asked, light and slightly – wary? The way his chakra swirled around him indicated that he was ready to draw on it, probably without even being truly conscious of it.

"I would," Sasuke said, inclining his head in the direction the voice had come from. "Is there a problem?"

"No," the man said, but there was still something in his voice. "My wife spoke to you about signing our daughter up – Ino?"

"She has," Sasuke said, his shoulders tense. There was something wrong here; he could feel the beginnings of a fight stirring and he had no idea why. He pushed Naruto away with a hand, with the instruction to 'go and introduce yourself', and thought for a second. It was Inoichi (that had to be who the man was), who gave the excuse.

"I just need a few words with Hideyoshi-san, Hiroshi-san. Something about my family's techniques." It was a reasonable excuse, and Shizuka seemed to accept it at face value as her footsteps moved away and a steady 'thunk' started up again.

The two men stayed in silence for a few long seconds, Sasuke determined not to be the first to speak. He didn't know what this was about, but he would not be forced into the position of supplicant. Inoichi seemed to be off-guard, searching for words.

"Who was that boy?" he asked, and Sasuke felt surprised. He kept silent while he struggled to find the right words.

"What is it to you?" he replied, and then nearly winced. The words would be too defensive, if not for the blank tone they were delivered in.

"Hideyoshi-san, please don't try to play with me," Inoichi said, and there was an agitated note as he spoke.

"I'm not," Sasuke said, and paused. It would only do more harm than good if he continued to avoid the question – Shizuka would spill everything if asked. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto."

There was a short intake of breath, and then Inoichi let it hiss out. "I never saw him this close," he said – bewildered? Confused? Something like that. Sasuke wondered if this was going to be a problem; he knew many of the older shinobi saw Naruto as the demon rather than a vessel, but Inoichi didn't sound afraid or angry.

Even through the seemingly rational thoughts, Sasuke could hear himself speaking, his voice frosty and disconnected from the rest of his body. "If you have an objection to my student, Yamanaka-san, there will be no problem in you withdrawing your daughter from my session."

"No!" Inoichi shouted in alarm. He continued in a lower voice. "It's not that, I was just…" Inoichi coughed, cutting himself off, and Sasuke became aware of the silence that had gathered over the clearing at Inoichi's shout, even Shizuka stopping.

"Already arguing with the sensei, Inoichi?" someone else drawled – Shikaku, Sasuke identified, with a low jolt. How had he missed the man's approach? "Scram over to the other kids, Shikamaru."

"Dad?" Ino piped up from where she was standing. "What's wrong?"

There was a forced smile in Inoichi's voice as he replied. "Nothing, Ino love. Just discussing something with your sensei."

Sasuke could hear Naruto's concern – illustrated in how he wasn't saying anything. The awkward moment was on the verge of becoming something more, Shikaku obviously moving to the defence of his friend, when the others arrived in a gaggle, chatting among themselves.

The introductions passed in a blur – my daughter Sakura, my daughter Tenten, she's in her first year at the academy, my son Chouji, you already know Ino, this is Shikamaru, Morino Daisuke, sensei, nice to meet you, my daughter, Ayame-chan, she wants to get in some extra training before she goes into the academy, my son Ryuu, he's only five but we think he'll be able to keep up just fine.

It was luck that allowed Sasuke to overhear Shikaku cornering Inoichi in concern, and years of training that had him make a few subtle handseals to amplify his hearing – normally, he wouldn't use this jutsu, as it had a tendency to cause serious damage to the user's eardrums if there were any loud noises nearby, but he was paranoid over how Inoichi had reacted to Naruto. As he nodded and smiled to Seito Mitako, the concerned – and pushy mother – of this 'Ryuu', he strained to overhear what the two were muttering about.

"...what was that all about, Inoichi? Hideyoshi didn't do anything, did he?"

"No, no – it was just- I was surprised at the kid's appearance. Nothing big."

"The Uzumaki brat? It's weird how an ex-ninja would suddenly come along and pick _that_ kid to become attached to, I suppose..."

"Don't push him, Shikaku. When he thought I was threatening the kid, he was as cold as anything. You should have _felt _the killing intent – and it was concentrated, as well. None of the kids noticed anything."

"He's blind – he's not exactly a threat-"

"Yeah, but haven't you noticed the way he moves? He was definitely good."

"He told Shizuka that he was a wandering nin."

"...I just think he would have had a reputation. You can see it in the way he holds himself – and the whole 'no emotions' thing. Are you sure you trust Hiroshi-san?"

"She's my cousin."

"Still, I'm just saying that she's a bit easy to take in, don't you think?"

"You reckon we should withdraw the kids?"

"No, I'm just saying he's not as helpless as you seem to think he is."

"It was the kid, not him, that you were arguing about, though?"

"Yeah. It's just that he looks-"

"We gonna start, Kenshin-sensei?" Naruto asked, tugging on his trousers, and Sasuke cancelled the jutsu with a shake of his head, flicking Naruto's hair without really thinking about it.

"We are. Go get the others, will you?"

"Sure!" Naruto cheered, and Sasuke just _knew _he was bouncing off from the tone he spoke in. He didn't bother to turn his head to where he could feel Inoichi's and Shikaku's chakra, as Naruto began to happily sing-song at the others, instead speaking with his head facing straight forwards.

""Do you wish to stay and supervise, Yamanaka-san, Nara-san?" he asked, and his voice was faintly sardonic. There was a soft mumbling between the two, and Sasuke briefly regretting dismissing his jutsu.

"No, we're fine," Inoichi said at last. "We pick them up at five, right?"

"Hn," Sasuke agreed, inwardly wincing. Five hours of the brats – and he could already hear Ino scolded Naruto in strident tones; something about 'not talking to a lady like that'. _Look on the bright side,_ he told himself. _It's only on the weekends_.

* * *

It was with some dismay that Sasuke realised just _why_ Naruto had been failing at water-walking yesterday. None of the children knew how to draw on their chakra properly; Naruto had probably just been grasping at 'that weird feeling' and walking forward, ending up at the bottom of the pond every other time.

He'd sat them down and started them on basic meditation techniques, pausing only to wake Naruto up (for the sixth time in a row; Sasuke was really starting to empathise with Iruka) and confiscate Chouji's crisps, which the boy seemed to have an unlimited supply of. Sasuke had a nasty suspicion that Shikamaru was just cloud-watching from what he knew of his character, but considering that that was akin to meditation, he left the boy alone. Ino was whining about being bored over by a tree, and Daisuke- well, he seemed to have a good hang on meditation for an eight-year-old, which wasn't that surprising considering he was a Morino.

"Now, chakra is like a store of inner power," Sasuke said for what had to be the twelfth time. "When you're meditating, try to see a flame, and imagine that that flame is your chakra. Everyone got a flame?"

"I don't like fire, sensei," Ryuu complained, and Sasuke just managed not to twitch.

"Pretend," he got out in a voice that was edging on being strained. "Try to make the flame bigger, and then imagine it running through part of your body-"

He stopped as he felt the chakra signals alter slightly – Morino Daisuke was breathing slightly hard as he channelled chakra through one hand; impressive enough, and smart to focus on one area. Sakura seemed at about the same level, but Sasuke expected that. She was- he corrected himself; she_ had been_ the most focused on control, when they were genin-

"_You," she whispers in a broken voice, her hands a bloody mess. "You disgust me, Sasuke."_

"_The feeling is mutual," he replies with a sneer, hardening his heart to her tearful green eyes and shaking fists-_

Ayame was a pretty unknown quantity, but she wasn't doing too badly; a couple of flickers juddered through her body now and then.

He extended his senses out to the other children, and nearly choked. "Naruto, that's enough!" he snapped, feeling the chakra flow disrupt in the boy, fading away like it had never been there. For a second there, Sasuke had thought-

"Why'd I have to stop, sensei?" Naruto whined. "I was feeling something then."

"_Obviously_ you were doing something wrong, moron," Ino snapped, and there was clear frustration in her voice – Sasuke didn't think she'd even managed to brush her chakra.

Naruto, though... Naruto had been drawing on more power than he should have been able to, even if Sasuke recalled his insane stamina. That had been lower chuunin level, except he was seven years old. It was unnatural, and he swore he didn't remember _anything_ like that from the academy. Iruka would have had a heart-attack if Naruto had been summoning that kind of power. He would have been hailed as some kind of prodigy. (Apart from the fact that he was a complete idiot with books, but that was besides the point.)

"Nothing is wrong," he said slowly, calmly, after a moment. "You were just going a little overboard, alright? Remember what I said about your pathways not being fully developed yet." _And definitely not developed enough for you to be acting as though you're a reasonably powerful ninja already._

"You suck," Ino whispered loudly to Naruto, and there was a pause.

"You suck more," Naruto replied grumpily, though there was a hint of upset in his voice. Sasuke ignored them.

"Daisuke, Sakura, both of you did well. Keep that up, and perhaps you can move on to more advanced techniques later." No, Sasuke didn't see anything wrong at allowing his students to proceed at their own pace, whatever some might grumble about favouritism. And pointing out those two as good examples wasn't an attempt to make the others feel bad – just to foster competitions.

Unfortunately, both Ino and Naruto seemed to be lacking in the 'having been challenged' area, and were instead continuing to hiss childish insults at one another.

"What_ever_, blondie," Ino grumbled, and there was a scuffing sound, like Naruto was dragging his foot across the ground.

"You're blonde too!" he complained. "Stupid."

"I'm a prettier blonde," Ino said haughtily. "And I'm not stupid, _you're_ stupid."

Naruto laughed. "If you're pretty, I'm a _tree_!" he said, in the tones of one who has pulled out that ultimate trump card.

Ino thought about this, and then came up with a threat to respond to this. "I'll lick you," she proclaimed triumphantly, and Sasuke could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.

"I don't want your girl germs," Naruto protested.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, but Ino continued, ignoring the teacher who was looking faintly irritated.

"Then admit that I'm pretty, blondie."

"No way! You look like a _pig_," Naruto said, and Ino shrieked in indignation.

"Ino-chan, please don't-" Sakura began from over to one side, but from what Sasuke could tell, Ino had launched herself at Naruto and was busy trying to lick him as Naruto screeched about drool and pig girls.

Sasuke could feel his nails digging into his palm as he gritted his jaw. He was _never_ going to think of any teacher as taking the easy way out, ever again.

"I'm hungry," Chouji grumbled beside Shikamaru.

"You're always hungry," Shikamaru said back, his voice relaxed. "This is so troublesome."

"Kenshin-sensei, I don't really understand the meditation," Tenten confided quietly. "I use weapons more than chakra."

"Ino's really good at taijutsu, ne?" Morino Daisuke said to Sakura, and she looked over at him.

"Yeah, she is," she replied. "Ino's my best friend! Even if she is a pig."

"Um," Daisuke responded, and Ryuu began to cry at being ignored.

"_Kenshin-sensei_, Ino's given me _girl germs_," Naruto whined loudly, as a victorious Ino began to dance about wildly, and Sasuke snapped.

"Naruto," Sasuke said in a voice of eerie calm. Naruto wisely fell silent, as did everyone else in the training area. "You are going to shut up and sit down. Then you are going to meditate. You are not going to try and make a very big flame, because you will damage your chakra pathways. You are not going to sit near Ino. You are not going to talk to Ino. Do you understand?"

Naruto 'eep'ed, and Sasuke was left with a very fixed smile on his face. "Now, does anyone else have something to say?"

There was silence, and Sasuke held back a shiver of relief. He _hated_ children.

* * *

"So, tomorrow at half twelve?" Ryuu's mother asked, holding onto her son's hand after having wheedled her way into a precise progress report of how exactly her precious Ryuu had done in the four and a half hours Sasuke had been teaching him.

"Yes," Sasuke replied, keeping his voice blank. Today's session had been _hell_ – he had a nasty suspicion that Ino and Naruto were going to get on very well. They'd already managed to move on from arguing with one another to backing each other up when arguing with others, and Sakura had started crying about being replaced. Daisuke had tried to comfort her, but that had been a most spectacular failure after Ayame began to tease him about having a _cruush _on Sakura. Why was everything drama with children?

He'd left Naruto with Shizuka as he went to wait with the rest of the kids for their parents; Shizuka herself had interrupted his session several times to ask about tree-climbing, and spent most of the time falling down if Sasuke heard correctly. He wasn't entirely sure why she wasn't with her genin team, but had kept from asking, under the basis that it wasn't his business, and maybe if he didn't ask her anything, she wouldn't ask him anything. (He didn't think that would work too well, but as Shizuka seemed unconcerned with anything save her training, that wasn't such a problem).

"I'm sure Ryuu will be one of your best students soon, Hideyoshi-san," Ryuu's mother chirped happily as she began to lead her son away, and Sasuke wanted to beat his head against a nearby tree. _You're getting paid for this,_ he reminded himself. _You must be patient with the parents_.

"If he works hard, I'm sure he will be too," Sasuke said neutrally, and briefly wondered what Shizuka and Naruto were doing as he heard Naruto's childish laughter drift over to him. The last of the parents faded away, voices talking indulgently to their children, and Sasuke leant back against a tree, his head throbbing faintly.

So. Today he had got into an argument with Yamanaka-san (and over _what_, Sasuke wasn't entirely sure), managed to make both Yamanaka and Nara wary of him, taught nine bratty children how to draw on their chakra, with varying success, had them start arguing loudly with one another, threatened to burn them all to cinders (albeit quietly, so he wasn't sure how many of them had overheard that) and started them on some basic taijutsu stances. At the moment, Tenten was probably his favourite student, because she didn't talk if at all possible.

He sighed, letting the tension leak out of his muscles, and stayed silent for a few moment, just listening to the birdsong and the vaguely blurring shouts going between Shizuka and Naruto. He should probably go and find out what they were doing, and then escort Naruto back to his apartment. Just... not yet. He could relax for a few more moments before throwing himself into the annoyingly energetic world of Naruto.

Tomorrow, he could probably start on tree-climbing, if he told them they weren't allowed to go any higher than three metres. He doubted many would make it that far anyway – after all, the majority of them hadn't even started at the academy; they were still at the civilian school. The Academy only began when they were seven, unless the child was some insane prodigy, like Itachi or Kakashi.

Actually, on second thoughts, maybe he shouldn't start them on tree-climbing. He didn't trust any of them not to go higher, and then fall and break their necks-

A scream broke his thoughts, and Sasuke was moving before he really thought, knocking into a tree in his haste, thinking – _that was Naruto -_

"What happened?" Sasuke demanded, a frantic note in his voice as he followed the sound to kneel by a crying Naruto, awkwardly trying to soothe him with one hand. His heat was beating erratically, and he was tense; ready to fire off an offensive jutsu.

"Hurts," Naruto wailed. "My arm and leg are all funny."

_Shit_, Sasuke thought desperately. _What's the damage? _He found himself regretting that he couldn't see what was happening more than ever, as he fumbled his hands into quick movements, forming the basic diagnostic jutsu he'd copied off Sakura at one point. Head fine, breathing safe, bones; right arm and leg broken, arm in two different places- oh shit, what did he do?

"Fuckfuckfuckfuck," he chanted under his breath, forming a cross-shape with his index fingers and pressing it against Naruto's forehead. The clearing fell silent as Naruto slumped into unconsciousness, and Sasuke carefully reached out for him, picking him up with as much care as he could, cradling the (oh God, he was so _light_) boy to his chest.

"Where's the hospital?" he asked, and his voice was curt.

"Uh," Shizuka got out, struggling with her words. "Down the road. Like, a mile an' a half."

"The co-ordinates," Sasuke snarled, annoyed more than ever at her incompetence – what eighteen year old ninja didn't know that their superiors meant _co-ordinates_ when they asked for directions? Teleportation jutsus were the obvious things to use in this situation, and she was _stopping him from getting Naruto medical aid__while she stuttered_.

"Thirty two, four," she finally said. "I'm not sure though-"

Whatever she said after that was lost, because Sasuke was already popping through the air, the uncomfortable tension of his body being _squeezed _surrounding him for blank, blank seconds, before he was thrust out into a babble of human noise. He took a couple of sniffs of the air – sterile, disinfected; good, he had arrived at the hospital.

He stood there awkwardly, not entirely sure which way to go or turn, Naruto cradled in his arms. "Is there a doctor, here?" he called, and someone snorted behind him.

"Of course there is – what are you, _blind_-?"

The person's voice trailed off as Sasuke turned his head to fix on where the sound was coming from, and he smiled, showing all his teeth. "Yes, yes I am," he said, his patience clearly coming to end, even though his voice was sweet. "Would you care to _find_ a doctor for me?"

"Er," the man said. "No need. I'm a medic-nin." Sasuke guessed the man had attempted a smile. "Sorry about the comment. Um. What needs healing?"

Sasuke wondered briefly if everyone in this age was a complete and utter idiot. "The boy," he said, in a very calm, very patient, what-the-hell-are-you-on tone, "In my arms. That I am carrying. Is injured. Are _you_ blind?"

"Oh!" the man exclaimed. "Shit. Er, didn't notice. Um, shit. Here. Um, Kenji, over here! Get a thingy to carry- the kid's injured-"

It was some relief to Sasuke that there was no mention of 'demon brat' or a debate on whether to treat him or not as Naruto was removed from his arms and rushed up to a room number 203 – he knew with some people Naruto was treated badly, but it didn't seem as bad as he had suspected.

...Or, alternatively, he was meeting with all the idiots of Konoha who didn't care about Naruto being the vessel because they were too stupid to ever think this through. Sasuke suspected the latter.

He moved to the side of the room, out of the way of the bustling doctors and nurses, and slouched there, looking vaguely intimidating. He'd go upstairs to wait by Naruto's room soon enough, but he suspected Shizuka would come running in soon enough, rushing around like a headless chicken if she couldn't find him. How had Naruto got hurt though? It seemed like he'd fallen from a height, but, really, Sasuke had no idea why he would have been climbing trees – he didn't know how to walk up trees, for one.

"Kenshin-sensei!" Shizuka gasped, out of breath, and Sasuke nodded once to himself.

"Room 203," he said. "Do you know where it is?"

Shizuka froze, and Sasuke could almost hear the cogs in her mind moving. "S'upstairs," she said finally. "Can you follow me?"

"If you flare your chakra," he said, and to his relief, Shizuka did seem to know how to do that as she wound her way through the crowds. When they'd gone up two flights of stairs and were walking along what seemed to be an empty corridor, Sasuke broached the subject without hesitation.

"How did Naruto get hurt?" he asked, and there was a mild warning in his tone. Shizuka swallowed.

"Well, y'see," she began uncertainly. "It was sorta..." They stepped around a doctor who was snarling about 'hopeless incompetents, and why were they allowed in _his_ hospital,' and kept walking. "I was climbin' a tree, yeah?"

Sasuke had a bad feeling about where this was going.

"And anyway, the brat asked what I was doin', and I told him, an' then he betted that he could climb the tree faster 'n me – usin' hands, not chakra – and then we were climbin' and he sorta fell an' then you came rushin' over-"

"You got into a competition with a seven-year-old boy," Sasuke said, his voice disbelieving. He could hear Shizuka shuffling, clearly abashed.

"Sorry, Kenshin-sensei," she mumbled. "I kinda got caught up in the moment, y'know?" She shuffled again. "He can stay with us, if you want. While he gets better. I don't mind."

Sasuke opened his mouth, and then closed it again, the anger dissipating slightly. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that," he said at last."You should go home and get some sleep soon. Are you meeting your team tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, and there was clear relief in her voice at his acceptance of her tacit apology. "Eight o'clock. More D-class missions." She came to a halt. "Room 203's here. You gonna wait?"

"Yes," he said, feeling along one wall until he came to a chair, and sitting down. He thought for a moment, knowing that she was still standing there uncertainly, and spoke again.

"Keep on practising your tree-climbing and water-walking," he said, his tone almost absent-minded, and there was a noise of hair brushing against fabric. Was she nodding? She seemed to remember herself then, putting it into words.

"Sure thing, sensei. I'll have it mastered by Monday!" There was a clear boast in her voice, and Sasuke nodded as he waved for her to leave, settling back into the slightly uncomfortable hospital chair to wait for news on Naruto. She acted like she was still twelve, he thought, then shrugged. Wasn't really his problem.

Shizuka left, and Sasuke sat there, feeling worn as the emotions and stresses of the day caught up with him. Was this what it had been like for his father with him? Fugaku had never been emotional with Sasuke, but still, there had to have been some fondness and worry for his younger son – hadn't there? Itachi had been the genius, but among the Uchiha district, Sasuke had been the child to spoil and play with; the child who proceeded to ignore all this in favour of tailing his older brother with worship in his eyes.

He had been such a fool – not just then, but all the years following it, every thought obsessing over that man. He wondered if his younger self would follow his own footsteps, and shook his head. If it came to that, he would just make sure Naruto never made friends with the younger Sasuke, no matter how much more it had made Sasuke's life. Naruto deserved some happiness, and he wouldn't get it by racing after an Uchiha brat.

He couldn't hear anything from inside the room, but he could feel the slight movement of chakra signatures and the faint trace of an anaesthetic jutsu. He suspected they wouldn't be able to heal the bone straight off, and wasn't sure how quickly Naruto would heal because of Kyuubi – at this age, the demonic chakra wouldn't have such a hold on his body, would it?

Footsteps approached; ninjas, from the way they walked almost in time, discussing something quietly between them. Sasuke guessed there were three of them, and he stayed unmoving, slowing his breathing until it sounded like he was asleep out of habit.

"Why did we have to bring that guy in?" the first ninja complained, seemingly completely ignoring the blind man asleep on one of the chairs. "Couldn't we have just let the crowd trample him?"

"I know. What a_ fuckin' _religious nut," the second ninja said, disgust evident in his voice. "Can you believe what he was saying?"

"Do you reckon we could get him for breaking Sandaime's law?" first asked hopefully. "I mean, he _was_ ranting about how the vessels were the messengers of God, and we should be 'kneeling before the one who holds back Kyuubi'. That's kind of breaking the law."

"He didn't mention who the vessel was, though," third said reluctantly. "So he only half broke the law. Bent it, you might say."

"We could pretend..." first said, his voice trailing off as (Sasuke guessed) they rounded the corner.

"Hello?" an middle-aged woman asked, her voice soft and hesitant. "Excuse me sir, but are you the little boy's guardian?"

Sasuke jerked slightly, swivelling around. "The blond boy, Naruto?"

"That's the one, sir," the woman said, sounding mildly surprised at something. Sasuke hesitated.

"I... teach him," he said slowly. What had Naruto said? '_This woman checks in every coupla months to make sure everything's okay' _and that had been it. "He has no guardians."

"No guardians?" the woman questioned. "Are you sure?"

"Very," Sasuke said. "I'm Hideyoshi Kenshin – he broke his arm and leg, didn't he?"

"Ah, yes," the woman said, and paused. "Well, I suppose you could act as a responsible adult for most purposes..." she mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.

"The diagnosis?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep from sounding impatient.

"Ah. We've managed to fix his leg – it was only a mild fracture, really, so we could use a jutsu to heal that up. He should probably stay off it as much as possible though. His arm has been plastered up, though; we couldn't put any more foreign chakra into his system, because he's too young," she said, faintly patronising as if he wouldn't know what she was talking about. "It should take about seven weeks to heal properly, and he'll need to come in for a check up. Does he live alone?"

"As far as I know," Sasuke admitted warily, trying to process this information. What would this mean for his training?

"He'll need to have someone with him; I don't suppose you could..." she trailed off, but Sasuke realised what she was getting at, and felt thankful at Shizuka's guilt-trip earlier. At least he'd have money to split the food costs. There was no way he'd let himself or Naruto be that dependant on her.

"He can stay with a friend and me for that time," Sasuke said dispassionately. "It shouldn't be a problem. Can I go in now?"

"Yes, of course!" the nurse exlaimed. "Your name was Hideyoshi Kenshin, wasn't it?"

Sasuke nodded, as he passed by her, suppressing the clenched fear and eagerness to see Naruto (was he already that afraid for his friend?) His footsteps tapped into the room as the doctor passed by him outside, and then he was left alone with an awake Naruto. Sasuke carefully felt his way over to the bed, and stood beside Naruto's head.

"Feeling better​?" he asked, and Naruto's voice shook.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled into his pillow, and Sasuke stayed silent as he stood there. The room was quiet, interrupted only by the noise outside, and Naruto shivered into his bed.

"Kenshin-sensei?" Naruto asked, and his voice was soft and ashamed. Sasuke sighed.

"Go to sleep brat, and don't go climbing any trees with Shizuka in the future. Understand?"

"Yes sensei," Naruto whispered, and that was just so _wrong_.

"Don't talk like that, alright? You just need to be more careful." He managed to smile. "On the plus side, you get to stay with Shizuka and me while you recover."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Sasuke said, and there was a fond exasperation in his voice. "Go to _sleep_."

And slowly, Naruto did just that.

* * *

END CHAPTER

* * *


	4. Part 1, 4 of 6

**Disclaimer:** As before.

**Warnings**: Bad fight scenes, swearing, blasphemy, original characters, etc, etc. No porn though. So it's all okay, really.

**A/N:** Okay, exams are currently killing me. (For those of you that follow From Six, apply same excuse there). I know that's no excuse for the... five month wait, but it's the only one I have and I have a sort of bond with it. So. Yeah. On other notes, several people have complained about the name 'Hideyoshi' (which is fair enough, because it is an awful name). Would people in general like to see it changes, and if so, what to? Am currently working through reviews to try and reply to them, so any other questions I should get back to eventually – if you leave some form of contact. Thank you all for your patience. (As a note, this chapter may well be subject to editing as it is quite rushed).

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"So, your name is Hideyoshi Kenshin," Sandaime said, his voice old but without the weary tone Sasuke remembered him having back when he was a Konoha genin. It turned out that Shizuka had given Sandaime some sort of report on him, several weeks late, and somewhere along the lines of, 'there's this blind guy I met on one of the training grounds who used to be a ninja, and he's staying with me now, end report.' Sasuke never thought he would meet someone who was worse than Kakashi at mission reports (save for Naruto. Even in _Sound_ he'd heard rumours of how appalling Naruto was with his paperwork) but he was apparently wrong.

"Yes," he grunted in an affirmative, and he heard the guard stiffen at the perceived insolence, clothing rustling slightly. Sandaime seemed to have made some kind of movement, because the tense feeling of the guard's chakra being gathered faded away – although Sasuke could have sworn he felt eyes boring into his head.

"I see," Sandaime said neutrally, shuffling his papers. "I don't remember any missing nin with the clan name 'Hideyoshi'."

"It goes a couple of generations back," Sasuke said, keeping his voice emotionless. "I think my grandfather changed his name when he left -" What would be the best village to choose; obviously not Konoha, " - Sand."

His thoughts drifted away for a second, after having heard Sandaime faintly affirmative 'hmm' and the scratch of pen on paper. Naruto had started the academy two days ago – his arm was still in a sling, but the medicnins assured them that it was healing surprisingly fast, and he'd probably regain full usage of it before the end of the month. Shizuka still sounded vaguely guilty whenever she spoke of climbing trees, as if it were now some forbidden sin, but she was getting on alarmingly well with Naruto. Any time the both of them were free, they could be heard crashing around the house, playing some bastardised form of hide-and-seek, which Naruto inevitably seemed to win, much to Shizuka's chagrin.

"Your clan name comes from your father or your mother?" Sandaime asked, breaking in on Sasuke's reverie, and Sasuke frowned underneath white bandages. Why-?

"_If they're asking you abnormal questions, there are normally reasons for it. Give the most logical answer, and avoid elaborating if at all possible."_

Kunoichi were generally less well known than their male counterparts – so, settle on that. "My mother," he said, and Sandaime made that same irritating 'hmm' as before.

"Did you know your father?" he asked, and Sasuke was genuinely bewildered at that – although fortunately, it didn't show on his face. Why all these questions on his lineage?

"No," he said after a bare second of thought. "My mother never mentioned him."

"I see," Sandaime murmured, and Sasuke almost had to bite his tongue to keep from a sharp, 'Well, I _don't_'. He'd forgotten how infuriating authority figures could be, having been his own commander for the past year, and a favoured subordinate even before then.

"Is there a reason you chose to take such an interest in Uzumaki Naruto, Hideyoshi?" Sandaime said, changing direction abruptly. What-?

"My friend-" he said, slowly and haltingly, his mind moving quickly – what had he told Shizuka, what did he know about Naruto that could be integrated with his story? "-Owed a debt to your Yondaime. Uzumaki has been called-" What was it, what was it? "-Yondaime's Legacy, for a while. My friend wanted to come and offer his help when he heard- about your Yondaime's death but-"

He let his shoulders droop slightly, as if ashamed of himself – and oh God, that wasn't hard to pretend, because he could remember shoving his hand through Naruto's chest and it was _all his fault_. "My friend died. I- My- I decided to take on his debts. I owed him that."

"What was your friend's name?"

"Haru," Sasuke lied.

"And how did he die?" Sandaime asked, his voice mild but pressing. Sasuke felt his fingernails digging into his palm and straightened his back. _Mix truth in with your lies. They are much more convincing._

"I killed him," he said, and there was a note of self-loathing in his voice that he couldn't remove. Could he ever really atone for what he'd done? The complete destruction of Konoha – so many dead – serving the enemy – he was as much of a traitor as _Itachi_.

"Do you intend any harm to Konoha, Hideyoshi?" Sandaime asked, and Sasuke was caught off-guard by another right-angled turn in the conversation. Damn, but Sandaime was good at this.

"Not unless it intends any harm to me or Uzumaki," he said, and then after a pause, he added grudgingly, "And I suppose Shizuka as well." He did owe her a debt after all, and he paid back what he owed, unless it would bring harm to him or Naruto.

"Acceptable," Sandaime said with some amusement. "I understand that you are taking on some children in a training course?" Sasuke nodded, and Sandaime chuckled. "Try not to... what was it... 'burn them to cinders' if they continue to annoy you. They are our future after all."

...How could Sandaime have known that Sasuke had muttered that once? He had to have had someone watching every session – and someone good if Sasuke hadn't managed to notice them. He couldn't keep his body from tensing, hearing Sandaime chuckle again. Manipulative old man. This was some kind of psych-out – probably a test of some sort-

"So tell me, Hideyoshi Kenshin," Sandaime said, and Sasuke could hear the pleasant smile in the man's voice. "Did you ever manage to activate your Sharingan?"

..._what_.

"Sandaime-sama," the guard beside him blurted out, seeming to forget all protocol. "You cannot mean to say-"

"Enough, Shisui," Sandaime said, and Sasuke would have had to suppress amusement at the faintly audible irritation in the old man's voice, had his own thoughts not been racing away. Put everything together – Sandaime accepted that his mother was a missing-nin and that he didn't know precisely who his father was. He must have taken something about the appearance and patched it together; tried to throw him off, maybe just putting out random ideas – his own reaction would have told Sandaime that he'd hit on something, so there was no point in denying it anymore...

"Yes," he said bluntly, and could feel Sandaime's satisfaction.

"At what age, may I ask?" Sandaime asked, every inch the benevolent ruler, and Sasuke stuck to the truth.

"Twelve," he said, and he could almost hear the guard shifting as if wanted to say something desperately but being held in – barely – by protocol.

Sandaime 'hm'ed, and there was a scratching sound of pen on paper. "And you are currently how old?"

"Twenty one."

"How did you get your injuries?" Sandaime asked, and Sasuke really, really didn't want to answer that.

"I lost one eye in a battle. The other I had removed by a medic-nin." He remembered-

"_Get rid of it."_

"_Sasuke-sama-" Kabuto begins._

"_Now," he snarls, and Kabuto says nothing more, but there is a half-smile on his face-_

"Why?" the guard – Shisui, was he called? Of course; Uchiha Shisui, who Itachi would kill – burst out, and Sasuke turned his head slightly to face where his hearing told him Shisui stood. He stayed silent, until Sandaime moved a piece of paper and spoke.

"I, too, would like to know, Hideyoshi-san," he said mildly. Sasuke stiffened his back, standing as if he was in ANBU, making a report. Some things had to be said – but didn't have to be said in front of a possibly power-hungry Uchiha.

"I would prefer if there was no Sharingan user in the room, Hokage-sama," he said, in a tone that brooked no opposition, and Sandaime chuckled.

"And how did you know Shisui here has the Sharingan, Hideyoshi-san?" Sasuke wasn't imagining it. There was a faint emphasis on his given name. Damnit, damnit, _damnit_. How did he lose control of everything so quickly?

"I'm psychic," he snapped sarcastically, temper getting the better of him. Sandaime chuckled again.

"I'm sure," he said indulgently. "Shisui, you may go. I will not need a replacement guard."

"Hokage-sama," Shisui protested, but was cut off – a hand-signal, Sasuke presumed. He felt the chakra signal leave the room, leaving the two alone, and turned his head to face Sandaime.

"All witnesses are now gone. Who are you really?" Sandaime said.

Sasuke took a breath; did he lie? No, he'd already seen how well that had gone. Irritating, all-knowing Hokages...

"Uchiha Sasuke."

An intake of breath, and then, "How?"

"Fate shone on me, I suppose," Sasuke said, a hint of self-mockery in his voice. "There was nothing left – and I needed to... to make up for what I had done."

"When you say nothing left..." Sandaime began.

"Nothing. Konoha was razed to the ground. The three sannin were dead, you were long dead, I turned traitor and killed my best friend," the words were rushing out of him, and he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. "My brother had killed my family, and I killed him, the Hyuuga clan was destroyed from inside-out, the civilians were burnt along with the village – _there was nothing left_."

"Explain," Sandaime said hollowly. "_Now_."

* * *

"Hey, hey, Kenshin-sensei!" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke could hear him bounding down the stairs at an insane pace. "Guess what, guess what?"

"What?" Sasuke asked blandly, unable to force interest into his voice. Sandaime had insisted on picking every detail out of him, going as far as to cancel all of his other appointments without any explanation. Sasuke was exhausted – having to justify the actions that he _couldn't_ justify, even to himself, talking until his throat felt raw. He had to explain the Uchiha Massacre, explain why he thought they should be... left to die, and that had made him feel sick.

"_Orochimaru was strong enough, even without the Sharingan. He only needs it for three years to gather the jutsus he wants. I don't want to see how it could get worse."_

and

"_It's a mental flaw in us. Kabuto discovered it when he made me come in for physicals. Sharingan's almost like a photographic memory, and using it to much overloads the brain. Why do you think there so many Uchihas who die young, on missions? They go insane, get reckless, forget their own consciences – the brain can only really take nine years of intensive use of the Sharingan; slightly more if it's used sparingly, but... can you imagine Orochimaru becoming more twisted?"_

and

"_Mangekyou Sharingan is filthy. There should have been no records written about it – it should have been left to die."_

"...got accepted at the Academy!" Naruto babbled, his arm still hanging loosely in the sling as he waved the other around enthusiastically.

"Well done," Sasuke said, ruffling the boy's hair as if in a dream. "Just... promise me something?"

"'kay, Kenshin-sensei!" Naruto said cheerfully, and Sasuke could imagine his eyes squinting away happily. Nostalgia rose in him for a second, before Sasuke beat it down.

"Avoid the Uchiha boy," he said. "I have a bad feeling about him."

"Huh?" Naruto asked. "'kay, sure. Whatever. Can you take me to the park? I'm meeting Ino-chan there, and there's this weird white-eyed boy who we're gonna take out, 'cause he was mean to Ryuu, even though Ryuu sorta deserved it because he was being a brat. _Again_."

Sasuke's tiredness abruptly increased, combining with a sudden headache. "You want me to take you to the park so you can beat a boy up," he deadpanned.

"Yeah!" Naruto said cheerfully. "He's a real bastard though."

"Language," Sasuke sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "And you're injured."

"That's why me _an'_ Ino-chan are gonna do it," Naruto said, a tone of indisputable logic in his voice. "I'm not _stupid_."

"Nice to see a little thing like 'honour' doesn't bother you either. A true shinobi," Sasuke said dryly. "You're normally fine walking by yourself."

"Yeah, well," Naruto said, hesitating slightly. "Ino-chan's dad's gonna be there, and he's kinda weird. He keeps on staring at me. It's kinda creepy."

Sasuke paused for a moment, thinking. Naruto was right; Inoichi did seem to have a tendency to follow Naruto around for some odd reason. There was no killing intent about him, so it probably didn't mean he planning anything harmful, but still...

"Fine," he sighed. "No beating anybody up though."

"Sen_sei_," Naruto whined in a token protest, before running off, his bare feet padding against the floor as he went in search of his shoes. There was a bang somewhere above them – Shizuka practising a jutsu, no doubt, and from the swearing drifting down the stairs it hadn't gone as it should have. He didn't bother to reprimand her for her language. Naruto probably knew worse, and he wasn't _her_ guardian.

"Oi, Kenshin-sensei!" her voice bellowed down the stairs. "What's the second hand sign thingy in Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu?"

"Tiger," Sasuke shouted back before freezing. _She isn't trying to __practise__ fire jutsus inside, is she_? he thought incredulously. Not his business, though. _Not his business_.

* * *

Sasuke lay his head back against a tree trunk, hearing Naruto shouting happily a couple of metres away, before yelping as he and Ino began to scuffle. Those two were worse than he and Naru- _old _Naruto had been, but at least there was no underlying animosity, no need to _kill the one closest to you_. The two of them were too similar, too brash for that kind of deception; you'd almost think they were related.

It was strange how peaceful everything was. Sakura had resigned her place as Ino's best friend with good cheer and had become fast friends with both Ayame and Daisuke. Naruto and Ino were both _hellions_ and should be put up against a tree and fireballed to death, but they were always good for raising enthusiasm in the group – they managed to drag everyone into their feuds, anyway, and that was nearly the same thing. Shikamaru tried to sleep through everything, but Tenten had discovered senbon needles and was busy motivating him in place of Ino (Shikamaru's mother seemed absolutely enamoured with the girl; Sasuke suspected she was already planning the wedding), while Chouji occasionally empathised with him, but was rapidly gaining confidence as a big brother figure to Ryuu – and, incidentally, keeping Ryuu from the numerous accidents he was prone to. Everyone, strangely, seemed to _fit_ in a way they hadn't before; Sasuke could easily imagine them in teams whereas before-

"_I regret the day you were put on my team, Uchiha."_

- before, there had always been a slight grating between the threes, not really clicking completely. Oh, they'd grown on each other, but it was never quite perfect, never quite as it should have been.

"What_ever_ white-eyes," Ino's voice snapped from his right.

"Does it make you feel good, being a bully?" Naruto said, his tone a mixture of self-righteousness and bewilderment. "Ryuu didn't do nothing to you."

_Note to self_, Sasuke sighed mentally. _Correct Naruto's grammar_. He had a feeling that was going to be an uphill struggle, especially with Shizuka around.

"The weak are destined-" a voice said, and it was with faint amusement that Sasuke recognised it as a childish Hyuuga Neji, already deep in the embrace of fate and gnawing bitterness.

- _"I am not afraid to die, Uchiha. I have fought my destiny, and I will do so again willingly."_

"You're stupid," Naruto said decisively.

"Really stupid," Ino added.

"And you're weak!" Neji snapped back, seemingly offended – but whether it was from the unimaginative insults or the idea that someone was calling _him_ stupid wasn't something that Sasuke could decipher.

"Whatever, stupid," Ino said breezily. "We have better things to do."

"You're running from the truth," Neji said, trying to sound dignified. "Because you're _scared_. And weak. Only weak people would break their arms." That was clearly directed at Naruto, and Sasuke could feel the annoyance bristling off the boy, twitches of chakra flickering around him, reinforcing his body almost subconsciously, as all ninjas did-

"Naruto," Sasuke said, not even bothering to raise his voice. "What did I tell you earlier?"

There was a pause, and then a soft, "Sorry sensei," accompanied by the scuffing of a foot on the ground. "It's just-"

"Excuses," Sasuke said, "Are for incompetents. Now stop drawing on your chakra and go... make friends or something. I'm sure you and Ino-chan are perfectly capable of finding some kind of trouble to get into." He paused. "And take the Hyuuga brat with you. You're all disturbing my thoughts."

"I don't-" Neji began and Sasuke sighed almost imperceptibly. He cocked his head to one side, and heard Naruto obligingly grabbing hold of Neji's arms and shouting at Ino to 'help him with the bastard'. If Sasuke had still had his eyes, he would have rolled them at the sounds of Hyuuga Neji being muscled away by Ino and Naruto, a distinctly undignified yelp escaping his mouth. As it was, he leant back again, feeling the press of bark against his back and tried to return to losing himself in his thoughts.

So, they all seemed to fit-

"Hideyoshi-san," Inoichi said from a few metres away, and Sasuke nearly swore. Was he not allowed to think anymore? Did people have to intrude in his solitude? He almost wanted to stab someone.

"Yamanaka-san," Sasuke replied blandly. _Is there a reason you're bothering me? _hung unsaid in the air, but Inoichi masterfully ignored it, obviously too used to Sasuke's brusque ways already.

"I was over in Sand a few days ago," he said, and Sasuke felt a moment of chill. This wasn't some sort of revelation of '_I know that the ancestral line you say you're from doesn't really exist, now meet your doom, liar'_ was it?

-Wait, no. Only the Hokage and Shisui knew his cover story of 'my grandfather was from Sand', so he was just being paranoid.

"…Yes?" he finally said, when Inoichi didn't seem likely to continue.

"Ah," Inoichi said, and he seemed uncomfortable. "Well, I saw this kid – must have been about Ino's age – and he was using sand as a weapon. I've not heard of any jutsus like that before, and as you were a wandering nin, I thought you might know-"

So, some kind of small talk to try and get the foreigner to open up – probably mixed with a genuine curiosity over the jutsu. Sasuke almost smirked; this kind of psychology he understood.

"There aren't any," he said bluntly, and could _feel_ Inoichi's twitch.

"I know what I saw-" Inoichi began indignantly, and Sasuke raised his hand.

"I'm assuming you're talking about Subaku no Gaara. I've heard rumours, but from what I can tell, the boy's ability to control sand is closer to a bloodline than a jutsu." He paused, and sensing a genuine interest, continued. "Some _say_," and he emphasised the word say, as if to show his own doubt in the rumour, "that the boy has a demon inside him - and that's what gives him his ability. As far as I know, though, there are no jutsus that an average shinobi could use that have sand as a base element."

"Huh," Inoichi said thoughtfully. "Sand's got their own jinchuuriku then."

"There are _rumours_," Sasuke began, and Inoichi let out a huff that was close to laughter.

"Give me some credit Kenshin-" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in address, but said nothing, "I may not know a lot about you, but you're not the type of person to say _anything_, rumour or not, unless you had some belief in it. And as far as I can tell, your 'slight belief' in something is someone else's hard proof. Therefore, Sand has a jinchuuriku, and probably one they're training to be a weapon if I know anything about that village."

Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly, involuntarily. "And therefore-?" he prompted, interested to see where Inoichi would go with this.

"And therefore we need to start worrying about training our own generation, because…" Inoichi was probably frowning from the tone in his voice. "Because Sand is going to be looking for our clients, and with a jinchuuriku that they're training instead of-" there was a pause, and Sasuke mentally inserted '_instead of ignoring, as we do to ours' _"Well, they're going to be a very real threat in another eight years or so."

Inoichi, Sasuke decided, was probably in Intelligence.

"So…" Inoichi said, trailing off, and Sasuke tilted his head towards him. The man was clearly uneasy, but Sasuke made no move to elevate his discomfort, more amused than anything. "Ah. Ino says she enjoys your lessons. Have you taught before?"

"Rarely," Sasuke said, not bothering to elaborate. He didn't want to make any mistakes in his cover story, and the easiest way to do that was to avoid talking about himself.

"Okay," Inoichi said. "What were you involved in?"

"Combat specialist," Sasuke said after a moment's thought. "Ninjutsu in particular."

"Right, so," Inoichi began, and then swore. "What the hell is that Hyuuga doing?"

Sasuke half-twisted, listening intently and from a distance he could hear the sound of a blow hitting flesh and a cry that-

Naruto. Sasuke was on his feet before he realised it, but it wasn't like the wild rush when he'd heard Naruto scream, falling from the tree, but instead a controlled stride towards the cry. He could hear raised voices – Neji seemed to be protesting over something loudly, and then running footsteps that only just warned him of Naruto approaching before the boy hit him like a bullet. Sasuke caught him without flinching, feeling a small hand clenching onto his arm, and turned to where firmer footsteps could be heard.

"You," an unfamiliar voice said, cold and contemptuous. "What are you doing what _that_?"

Sasuke was tired. He was fed-up. His headache that had nearly disappeared with the mildly interesting talk with Inoichi was suddenly reminding him that he didn't like Hyuugas – and Naruto was half-trembling in his arms, clearly expecting to be hit again and unused to someone holding him. It was with these things in mind that he placed Naruto down and straightened, turning his head to where the man has spoken from.

There was silence, and Sasuke almost smiled grimly when he heard the man shifting. Good. Off-balance and uncomfortable. Now, continue-

"Is it a habit for you to go around hitting children, Hyuuga-san?" he half-purred, and there were almost imperceptible twitches of chakra flickering around him. Apparently he was unnerving some people.

"That- that thing-" the man began, blustering – and that was odd. Sasuke didn't think he'd ever heard a Hyuuga bluster before.

"That boy," he corrected, in the same almost languid tone, the dangerous undercurrent seeming a side-effect.

"What?" the Hyuuga said, sounding confused. Sasuke tilted his head to one side.

"That boy, not that thing," he said. "Please try to use the right form of address." He paused, and then let his voice drop slightly. "And mind me well, Hyuuga. Touch my charge again and you will have me to contend with."

"Kenshin," Inoichi said uneasily. "I don't think threats are necessary. I'm sure Hyuuga-san didn't mean-"

There was a shift and a rustle of clothing – the Hyuuga was moving, Sasuke guessed. Naruto edged closer to him, and Sasuke could feel the heat emanating from the small body as Naruto finally clutched onto his leg. "Why should I feel threatened by a _blind_ man?" the Hyuuga sneered, trying to regain some composure, and there was easy laughter from behind them both.

"That's a good question," Uchiha Shisui said cheerfully. "Why don't we find out? I think Training Area 23 is free."

"Uchiha-san-" Inoichi said, his voice placating, and Sasuke felt outrage stiffening his shoulders. He was _not _weak, and Inoichi did not need to make these kinds of decisions for him. His entire life he had been focused around strength, and to have people dismiss him because he was blind; because of a decision he had made himself – that did not sit well. The repentance that had made him remove his last eye was easily overwhelmed by his pride, even as his mind flashed through potential fighting situations. He might not be up to Itachi's standard, but he was still a match for some over-arrogant Hyuuga – he just needed to even the fighting field somehow…

"I am willing, Hyuuga-san," Sasuke said, inclining his head slightly and feeling a mocking smirk tug at the edges of his mouth. "Unless, of course, you are afraid of this blind man?"

There was a hiss of outrage, and Sasuke nearly smiled.

"Lead the way, Uchiha," the Hyuuga growled, and Sasuke could imagine Shisui's triumphant grin. What did the man have to gain from this, though?

* * *

Flaring his chakra out faintly, Sasuke nodded to himself as he got a vague idea of where everything was. It wasn't the most reliable way of scanning his surroundings, but it was the best he could do. Luckily, his opponent didn't seem to know how to smother his own chakra, so Sasuke would at least have an idea of where he was.

"No permanent damage or killing, people – remember that this is just a spar," Shisui said in an inappropriately cheerful voice, and Sauke shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"Get _on _with it," the Hyuuga snarled, and there was a sigh from where Inoichi stood, Ino, Naruto and Neji by his side and watching with a nervous sort of anticipation – although Neji seemed to have already decided how the match was going to go, and that was not in Sasuke's favour.

Well, they'd see.

"Ready? Okay, _begin_!"

Sasuke leapt backwards, his hands flashing in seals – even out the playing field, that's what he needed to do, and Byakugan didn't see through genjutsu-

-He slid away from the illusion-body he had made, feeling the dank slickness of invisibility covering him, but silently, move silently, and where was the Hyuuga coming from-?

_Crack_

Behind! he thought in blurring speed, then twisting the thought- no, illusion, doesn't know where I am- but that meant that he'd be attacking _there_ so-

He had a kunai in his hands and thrown before he knew what was happening, but there was a _clash_ as the Hyuuga knocked it out of the air – his own kunai? Presumably – returning the throw from the _swish-flick_ that thrummed the air, but Sasuke had already moved- and god_damnit_ why was there a tree root there?- barely turning the fall into a graceful flip but if the Hyuuga had any combat sense he would have heard-

Tree, tree, why was the a bloody tree- stick to the bark maybe this could come in use-

"I can see you, you idiot!" came the gloating tone, and Sasuke barely thought _moron-_

-Before he was on the other side of the clearing, the faintly acrid scent of teleportation jutsu barely there and he was moving to reform the genjutsu- but no, the Hyuuga would no how to recognise that, but he was already on Horse, so-

-to the side, he could hear the movement- end with a Tiger and- The rush of warm – hot – _burn _that always accompanied the slices of flame, feeling like his skin could almost peel from his face at the heat-

-There's a yelp from the spectators, but it's too low to be a child's, too low to be Naruto's, so Sasuke dismisses it from his mind and instead focuses on the _thwump _of the Hyuuga switching with a log at the last second, hearing the wood burst into fast flame and altering his position because he can hear the fast movements of someone fighting with the jyuuken-

-and sway backwards, feeling the displacement of air as the hands passed so close, so close, but not close enough- bring a foot around in a sweep, and he wasn't expecting _that_- A chuunin, Sasuke thought dimly, the Hyuuga could not be above chuunin level with skills like this -his opponent trying to roll with the movement, but slam the foot down there and-

Sasuke left his foot resting on the Hyuuga's windpipe, breathing harder than he would have expected to. "Give?" he asked calmly, trying not to let the adrenalin show in shaking voice or body. That had been- been the strangest thing ever, to fight completely without his eyes, and not a sensation he found himself enjoying. He had won though, and-

He increased the pressure on the man's throat. "Generally, questions require a response," he said, and the threat was unmistakable.

There was a pause, and Sasuke could almost hear the Hyuuga's pride being forced down. "You win," the man said stiffly. "You have my word I will not interfere with your- _charge_." There was unmistakable disdain on the last word, but Sasuke ignored it, feeling faintly generous and stepping away.

"God," he heard Inoichi muttering as if in deep shock. "_God_."

"Maybe," Shisui murmured, walking in close to prevent anyone from overhearing, "You are an Uchiha." There was a note of satisfaction in his voice, and Sasuke barely managed not to twitch at the irritation that flared at the man.

"Maybe," he acknowledged, his lips hardly moving. "Or maybe it was just a freak accident. How do you think your bloodline developed anyway?"

There was a hesitation from Shisui, and Sasuke turned away, feeling tiredness hit in as the adrenalin faded away. "Naruto?" he said, raising his voice slightly.

"'m here," an awed voice said of to one side. "That was _awesome,_ sensei." There was a twist of pride rearing its head in Sasuke at Naruto's unthinking words, for some reason he couldn't quite decipher, and he rested a hand on the boy's spiky head.

"Let's go home," he said. "If you're lucky I might teach you one of those jutsus."

...Was Naruto _bouncing_?


	5. Part 1, 5 of 6

**Disclaimer: **As is typical

**A/N: **Okay. Several comments – not only is this as late as all hell, but it's also kind of crap. I'm sorry about this, but I decided at this point it was better just to put something up than make you wait another year or so. There is a _lot_ of talking, but there are also a couple of important plot points that will come back later; I assure you that although it may all just look like filler, not all of it is. Secondly, **this story is AU. **Please don't tell me that Naruto was the son of Yondaime in canon; I am aware of that. Don't tell me that Itachi killed the clan on orders. I am also aware of that. I am just ignoring it for the sake of my own plot. For the sake of your own sanity, just consider this fic effectively AU after the Chuunin Exams. Thirdly, Sasuke's surname has, after some consideration, been changed to Hideyoshi (I picked a name at random; it's a completely valid way of creating character names).The next chapter should come in under a month to conclude part one; it's more interesting than this chapter, so should be a lot easier to write. Review responses are coming to all signed reviews; thank you all for your continued support and my apologies for my slack updating schedule.

* * *

**Two Steps Back**

**Chapter Four**

**

* * *

  
**

"Expel your chakra from your feet slower – _slower_," Sasuke said in a calm voice as he did another press-up.

He and Naruto were outside in Shizuka's garden, trying to master the art of water-walking – well, Naruto was trying to master it and Sasuke was monitoring the chakra levels and going through a basic fitness routine to try and keep himself in shape.

"I am doing it slowly!" Naruto complained, and Sasuke snorted.

"You need to use less chakra or the levels will fluctuate too much for you to be able to stand on the water. The lower the level of chakra is, the easier it is for you to maintain. Now use _less_ chakra," he said, and there was silence on Naruto's part.

"Uh, Kenshin-sensei?" he finally piped up. Sasuke grunted. "What does fluctuate mean?"

"Change back and forth," he explained shortly. He extended his senses, and there-

"_That's_ a better level of chakra," he said. "Try to keep that up, and then step onto the water."

A few seconds later there was a splash, and Sasuke sighed."Try it again," he said.

There was a rustle from behind him – Shizuka, he decided, feeling the chakra held in rough control under the person's skin. His guess was confirmed when Naruto shouted a greeting to 'Shizuka-nee-chan!"

The lack of reply, though, made him frown slightly. That wasn't like her – now, to put the effort into actually _enquiring_, or just to let her sort it out on her own...

"Naruto's gettin' bullied," she said without preamble, he voice low enough that Naruto wouldn't be able to hear, and Sasuke held himself still in surprise. Shizuka seemed to take that as permission to continue. "He's keeping his mouth shut 'cause he knows you can't see the bruises and they're healin' up pretty fast, but someone seems to be takin' the time to redo 'em every other day."

"Do you have any idea who?" Sasuke asked, pushing himself to his feet, and he was proud of how calm his voice was – even if it bordered on the edge of being _too _calm; dangerous in its mildness.

"D'you think I'd be sittin' here if I did?" Shizuka said. "I'd be kickin' the shit outta those bastards, or at least havin' a good go at it." She sighed through her nose. "I don't – I _like_ the kid, y'know, and I don't let anyone fuck with my lot."

Sasuke could feel a trite comment about Konoha's Will of Fire rising to his lips, before he pushed it down. "Do you have any idea why?" he asked. "Has he been pulling pranks-?"

"Er," Shizuka said, clearly thinking it over. "Nah – nah, he hasn't. Which is weird, 'cause you'd think they'd need some sorta trigger. Ain't like they'd go 'round beating the shit out of him for no reason, even if he _is_- well, you know."

"Hm," Sasuke said in reply.

"It just doesn't make sense," Shizuka snarled. "I mean, it damn well ain't goin' to be any of the kids 'cause they just don't have the strength to do somethin' like this – an' anyone older'n that has _got _t'know how Sandaime feels about stuff like this.

"The Hyuuga clan might be a little upset over the defeat of one of their members," Sasuke said reluctantly. "Especially since I am blind. It… cannot be the most respectable of defeats for those who pride themselves on being all-seeing."

"Y'mean over Hyuuga Akihiro?" Shizuka asked, continuing without waiting for an answer. "The man's a dick. Everyone knows that. Seriously, if I was good enough, I'd'a kicked his fuckin' head in long ago, an' that'd just be 'cause it'd feel good."

"Nevertheless," Sasuke shrugged. "They are incapable of acting directly against either myself or Naruto, yet I would imagine they are unwilling to allow the humiliation to escape. If a few adults happen to mention around a couple of teenagers how Naruto seems to be flaunting their clan's disgrace…"

"But he's hangin' 'round with that Neji kid now!" Shizuka protested.

"Mm," Sasuke agreed. "I do not believe they would be too happy over that, either. Perhaps that has upset them even more than this Akihiro's defeat. Hiashi, perhaps, would allow a lot to happen for the alleviation of his nephew's bitterness – the clan elders on the other hand…" He sighed. "Naturally, this is all supposition."

"So we need somethin' that'll get the Hyuuga to back off," Shizuka said thoughtfully.

Sasuke laughed softly. "We don't have the force to make them back off," he said, almost bitterly. "A genin and a blind man. I wouldn't have expected them to be so petty about what revenge they took, but what can we do about it?"

"Rumours," Shizuka said abruptly. "I'll say somethin' about you wantin' to… I dunno, adopt the kid, an' how I overheard Sandaime shoutin' something about Namikaze, an' then," she adopted a tone of mock revelation, "Hey, the kid kinda looks like Yondaime did. D'you think…?"

"You'll make them think he's Yondaime's son," Sasuke said. Maybe-

"Nah, not goin' to say anything straight out. Everyone knows that Yondaime couldn't have kids – some sorta family curse t'do with firstborn or somethin'. But we let _rumour _say it, an' by tomorrow he'll be Yondaime's little brother, or nephew, or, hell, Yondaime himself reborn. Maybe they'll come up with some explanation sayin' Yondaime broke the curse an' just didn't tell anyone 'cause he wanted his son to be safe."

"And then nothing can be verified – or disproved, but they still would be wary about testing it," Sasuke said. "Not bad." He managed not to let his confusion show in his voice – because Naruto wasn't the Yondaime's son? He'd always assumed…

Shizuka snorted inelegantly. "People reckon I'm stupid," she said. "I am, kinda – I don't know books or anything, but I'm still half Nara when it comes to it. S'just… I can't make things go from A to B, if y'get me. I'm there at D, an' I've not got a _clue_ how, or how t'explain it but-" She sighed.

"It's like seals. There's all this maths and stuff behind explosive tags, but I c'n just draw 'em an' they'll work just fine even if they aren't like everyone else's."

"You make your own explosive tags?" Sasuke asked, momentarily derailed.

"Well, yeah," Shizuka said, sounding confused. "Doesn't everyone? It's way cheaper."

"Cheaper, perhaps but hardly time-efficient," Sasuke said. "It takes a while-"

"Kenshin-sensei, I did it, I did it!" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke turned his head to where Naruto's voice was coming from.

"How long?" he asked, and paused, slightly bewildered at the tolerant amusement in his own voice. It was only a tinge, but since when had his emotions been on show like this?

"Two minutes, just like you said! I counted it – six lots of twenty seconds." Naruto said, running up to him, his wet clothes slapping against the ground.

"Good," Sasuke said, inclining his head slightly. "Remember to do this at the start of every day, increasing the length slightly – your chakra control will be significantly improved by it."

"Hey, hey!" Shizuka said indignantly. "I didn't get a 'good' when I mastered the water-walkin' thingy."

"Shizuka," Sasuke said blandly, "You're over twice his age."

"Yeah, but-" she spluttered. "I completed it faster than him too!"

"As I said," Sasuke said, "Twice his age."

"It's 'cos I'm cooler than you," Naruto said, and Sasuke could guess that he was sticking his tongue out. Shizuka howled.

"That's it, you little brat! You're going down!"

Sasuke leant back slightly as Shizuka went lunging past him, and managed not to sigh as the two descended into an all-out war in the back yard. At least, he thought philosophically, feeling Naruto's chakra flare as he presumably ran across the pond – at least they were still practicing their control.

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he stretched out slightly – another early-morning training session done, and he'd managed to hold off strangling Ryuu yet again. If it weren't for Chouji keeping control over the brat, he admitted to himself ruefully, then he'd have come close to snapping. Inoichi had taken Ino and Naruto (it was strange how those two were starting to slur together; InoandNaruto, like they were one person) to the Academy for classes and Sasuke was taking advantage of the momentary quiet.

Naturally, he should have been surprised when the faint – polite – flare of chakra came from off to one side; an ANBU signaling their presence. The residents of Konoha had an uncanny talent for interfering with his peaceful reveries (_brooding, _he could almost hear Naruto – old Naruto – saying mockingly. _Call it what it is, bastard._)

He turned his head to acknowledge the ANBU's signal, not showing his exasperation.

"Sandaime-sama would like to see you at your convenience, Hideyoshi-san," the ANBU said, voice muffled by the mask to come out as monotonous.

"Hm," Sasuke acknowledged. "Thank you for delivering the message, ANBU-san." There was another brief flare of chakra – the ANBU teleporting away, he assumed, but he knew better than to take it for certain.

Now, he thought, what precisely was meant by 'at your convenience'? Had it been a message from Orochimaru, then he would have assumed it was sarcastic – and that he was probably late for a meeting with the Otokage. Sandaime, however, he imagined said precisely what he meant. Nevertheless, it was probably best not to keep him waiting.

Sasuke began to head further into Konoha, the route so ingrained in his mind by now that he barely had to pay attention to obstacles. If he stuck to the more abandoned outer roads on his way to the Hokage's tower he might be able to make the journey without bumping into someone; while he could sense the bare limits of civilians' chakra, it was like comparing a candle to a bonfire when put next to shinobi – tended to throw his perception completely out. Shinobi were far easier to predict when it came to movement, something he had no doubt would distress a great number of ninja should they find out. And speaking of ninja-

"A word, Hideyoshi-san," a familiar voice snapped from somewhere to the left, and Sasuke frowned trying to remember where he recognised it from. Ah- Uchiha Shisui. He turned his head to where the sound had come from, tilting his head in slight inquiry.

"In private," Shisui said, and it was close to a snarl. Sasuke felt his muscles tense, not liking the hostility that was clearly present, but pretty sure it wasn't worth getting into a pissing match over. He extended his senses to try and gage how many people were around them – two civilians, slightly north-west, he guessed.

"Where would you suggest, Uchiha-san?" he asked, and his voice was pleasant enough to be a blatant mockery.

There was a pause, before Shisui's hand was on Sasuke's shoulder; the blur of a teleport and Sasuke had to stop himself from reacting as they _slid_ through air, solid force pressing _in- _and then out; a rush of release as they were back in the original plane. Sasuke wasn't sure when he'd drawn the kunai, but he _knew_ just how close it passed to Shisui.

"Perhaps," he said carefully, "It would be wise to warn someone before you tried that next time, Shunshin no Shisui."

"What did you tell Sandaime-sama?" Shisui demanded, ignoring the warning in his voice, close enough that Sasuke could feel his muscles tensing in reaction.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in a carefully calm voice, sheathing his kunai and keeping his face poker-blank.

"Don't look at me like that!" Shisui snapped. "You admitted to having the sharingan, you talked to him alone – you're the only one who could have brought this along."

"Uchiha-san," Sasuke said with forced patience. "Your... _interrogation_ would work better if I knew what you were trying to accuse me of."

Shisui breathed in, sharply, as if trying to control his temper. It took another few breaths before he finally spoke. "Sandaime-sama has restricted use of sharingan to seven hours a week, regardless of missions. The sharingan is not to be activated within the village walls unless in one of several regulated training grounds. He has ordered that all Uchihas on active service are to have regular-" And there was distaste in Shisui's voice as he continued, "-psychological examinations. Once every two months to be precise. _What did you say to him_?"

Sasuke knew he should back down, offer some placatory response that would calm the other down – taunting ANBU wasn't a great idea at the best of times and taunting them when blind was just stupid. Even so- He could feel his mouth widening into a cold smirk almost against his will, his shoulders dropping into insolent relaxation. This, a little voice in the back of his voice said, in tones uncannily reminiscent of Kakashi, was what always got him into trouble. Control yourself, let people think you're harmless.

"The truth," he said – at least his voice was the same dispassionate tones as he normally used. He would have been forced to bash his head against the nearest wall if he had descended into childish taunting. "The sharingan causes psychological instability, especially when advanced to higher levels. Constant activation leads to a deterioration in memory, emotional control and eyesight."

"That's a lie!" Shisui snarled.

"You're hardly the best one to judge, Uchiha-san," Sasuke said, secretly quite enjoying just how riled up Shisui was getting. "In fact-" He paused, cocking his head – had he heard...? For a second, he'd thought he'd heard a trigger explosion, like the ones Konoha had used against Oto at the beginning of the war – but there was no follow-

The explosion that came next rocked the ground beneath their feet, followed by the thumps of people stumbling against walls, the startled screams. _Kabuto almost blurring in his speed; the absolute shock that Konoha would __**dare**__attack them in their own home- was it Naruto who'd set off the explosion, he wondered as he ran towards the noise – Sakura, Kakashi, Kiba, anyone he knew?_ Sasuke shifted to keep his balance, shifted his mind into the present and _felt_ the rush of chakra as Shisui leapt to the nearest roof – going to see what had happened?

There was the faint shift of displaced air as Shisui landed back on the street. "It's over in sector five-seven," he said, sounding distracted and Sasuke frowned. Shisui kept on talking, as if to himself "The only place of significance there is the police station – there's no point in attacking that."

"Must be the first level holding cells," Sasuke said after a moment's thought. "Maybe someone's trying to break out-"

"The first level holding cells?" Shisui repeated blankly. "But-" Sasuke could almost hear the speed of Shisui's thoughts from where he stood, flickering over different pathways hurriedly. "I was just heading over there," Shisui said after a moment. "I just – saw you and stopped to-"

"Shout irrationally at me?" Sasuke enquired dryly. "Shouldn't you be going to secure the facilities?"

"Hm? Oh - no," Shisui said slowly. "I'm not on duty – I was going to see if Sayu needed me to pick up some lunch for her. If I go now, I'll just be getting in the way of the emergency procedures. You know protocol." He sounded worried though, as if he were trying to convince himself.

Sasuke nodded, unable to see the calculating look that spread over Shisui's face.

"So you were part of a Village," he said triumphantly. "Probably this one too, if you know _our_ protocol – and you knew where the holding cells were."

Sasuke stilled, thinking quickly. "What happened to worrying about the police station?" he drawled out, buying himself time. What to say, what to say... "And no, I've never been part of a Village. That doesn't mean I can't recognise the logic of your protocol when I hear it, or I can't guess that the lower security cells would be near your police station."

There was silence, and Sasuke wondered briefly what Shisui was doing – waited for him to speak up.

"You know," Shisui said after a moment, and there was an undeniably smug note in his voice. "You talk more when you're lying."

Sasuke said nothing, but arranged his face into a polite mask of incredulity. In the distance, there was the sound of shouting; chakra signs flaring up as more and more ninja took to the roofs in fast patrol formation. Alarms were beginning to flare up – as if anyone hadn't been alerted in the breach of security by the explosion, Sasuke thought with brief amusement, fading to be replaced with concentration.

Explosion in the police cells; did he remember it? Shisui was saying something else, pulsing his chakra out in flares in response to some sort of ANBU signal that had been sent out. There'd been that time, not long before the massacre; he'd been noisy, talking about how he'd felt the shocks over in the library, his mother had been saying something to his father over the evening meal – _"it was a good thing Shisui-san was visiting Sayu. Who knows how out of hand it could have got otherwise?"_

Ripples, Sasuke thought, sudden panic assaulting him. Ripples on ripples on ripples, affecting things – how was he changing the future? He was making guesses, based on what he knew, but he'd already starting changing things, even without Sandaime doing his best to meddle. If all these small things were changing then how was he going to control the larger ones? How was he going to make sure Naruto stayed safe?

Another chakra flare; someone dropping down in front of them. Sasuke found a kunai in his hand – he must be more off-balance than he'd thought, already resorted to weapons and as twitchy as anything.

"Is there a reason you're not moving to patrol the streets Shisui?" a young voice said, prepubescent but trying – and nearly succeeding - to make up for it in stern monotony.

"Is there a reason you're breaking Sandaime's new law already, Itachi?" Shisui said mockingly, and Sasuke froze- Itachi? His fingers twitched, almost desperate to form a jutsu, but no- Sandaime knew, Sandaime would deal with it, Itachi had to live so the timeline wouldn't decide to nosedive into Orochimaru's welcoming arms – any further than it might have. Damn, but it was harder than he'd thought to keep himself from just reaching out and-

No. He tuned back in to find Shisui speaking again. "-your sharingan? It's active kid. That's against the law."

Sasuke tried not to smirk at the patronising tone Shisui had taken on. There was something deeply satisfying about hearing his perfect older brother being talked down to that appealed to the eight-year-old hidden inside of him.

"I am an ANBU captain," Itachi said, his voice carefully calm. "Referring to me as 'kid' borders on insubordination."

Shisui snickered. "Tell you what. When your voice breaks, I'll stop calling you kid."

"Shisui-"

Sasuke's head snapped around as he felt three chakra signals approaching at speed. There was a sound – one of the two near him taking to the roof, ready to herd them. The other – Shisui, definitely Shisui – was trying to push him out of the way as they came closer.

Sasuke twitched, contemplated being reasonable and then decided against it with calm certainty. His hands flashed through a series of seals, and he was proud to note that his dexterity hadn't faded in the slightest – ten seals reeled off as fast as any could.

Slamming his hands out, he didn't bother to shout the name of his technique – instead feeling the wind wrap around his forearms and then blast out at speed, a tornado lashing out. The approaching chakra signals faltered – and then were caught up in the winds and tossed against the nearest walls. Sasuke grinned viciously as he heard sickening thuds, then wished briefly that he'd been able to unleash a nastier jutsu. Wind jutsus weren't his strength, but after seeing Naruto toss them around like confetti, he'd picked up a couple out of sheer self-preservation.

"That was an interesting jutsu," Itachi said, suddenly behind Sasuke. Sasuke tried not to twitch, and simply grunted an acknowledgement.

"From Suna?" Itachi prompted after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes," Sasuke replied, and didn't elaborate.

"They're both still alive," Shisui called – he'd presumably been checking their state, Sasuke thought detachedly. That was good – wait-

"Both?" he said. "Where's the third?"

"Third?" Shisui asked. "I didn't see a third."

"There were three chakra signatures," Sasuke said curtly. "One was fainter than the others, but still-"

There was silence, in which Sasuke imagined a conversation taking place between Itachi and Shisui – ANBU signs, most likely. "If there was a third, I'm sure they'll be picked up by village security," Shisui said at long last, his voice slightly placatory. Sasuke could imagine the thought – _if my sharingan didn't see them, they didn't exist_.

"…Probably," he conceded, not altogether sure of it. Someone, or two someones, were approaching from the right – a familiar trigger. Inoichi?

"We'll take them off your hands, Uchiha-san," Inoichi called. "No need for you both to hang around."

"…My thanks," Itachi said, his voice implying that he wasn't sure whether to be thankful or not. "I'll take my leave of you then."

"Ah- just a moment," Inoichi said mildly. "You appear to be breaking the law, Uchiha-san."

There was a pause, before Itachi spoke. "My apologies. It would appear to be an involuntary reaction to the altercation that took place shortly previous."

"Perhaps you should be more careful about your- involuntary reactions then," Inoichi said, still mild. Sasuke wasn't sure, but he imagined there was a faint note of glee underlying the careful words. "Some might be less conscientious about questioning you when it comes to fulfilling Sandaime's will."

"Naturally," Itachi said. "Shisui?"

There was no confirmatory sound, but the two vanished with the flares that indicated a precise teleport, much to Sasuke's relief.

"There is," Inoichi remarked thoughtfully, "A certain amount of pleasure available in enforcing Sandaime's new decrees – don't you think Genma?"

Genma snickered. "_I'm _just waiting for Uchiha Fugaku-sama to activate his sharingan in the Village. It's going to happen sooner or later."

Inoichi's grin was obvious in his voice as he replied. "I'm betting there'll be a couple of Hyuuga following him around for precisely that eventuality."

Genma laughed. "If the Aburame don't beat them to it. They were… a little upset at some of the Uchiha clan proposals at the last council meeting." There was the click of something – senbon against teeth? and then a grin. "You look like you want to ask some questions you don't particularly want me hearing, so I'm going to go stand over by that wall and examine the graffiti so carefully that I'm not going to hear anything you say. That cool?"

Inoichi snorted. "Thanks Genma." He waited a few moments, before speaking again. "So why were you talking to Shisui-san, Kenshin?"

"He thought I had something to do with the new laws," Kenshin deadpanned.

"Did you?"

"Perhaps," he admitted, not sure why he was bothering to give an answer.

"Huh," Inoichi said. And then again. "Huh. I hadn't really noticed that you looked like an Uchiha."

"Is this what you wanted to ask me?" Sasuke said, not particularly interested in going over that topic.

"Hm? Oh, yes – I was going to ask you- you said you were a combat specialist? Ninjutsu in particular?"

Sasuke grunted in agreement.

"What would you require in return for you sharing some of the jutsus you know? Nothing that could be considered family jutsus, naturally," he clarified hurriedly, "But anything you might have picked up that you don't mind passing on."

"Is this the appropriate time?"

"No better," Inoichi grinned. "And c'mon – it's a bunch of low-level ninja on the run. Worst it'll do is cause the Uchiha some embarrassment because they weren't policing as well as they claimed to be."

Sasuke hummed. "I believe Sandaime is planning on hiring me as a teacher for higher-level ninjas to pass on jutsus," he said. "As a friend, I should tell you that private lessons come at the cost of getting me really hammered."

"That unhappy?" Inoichi asked, amused.

"I'd really like to be drunk right now," Sasuke confessed, and Inoichi laughed.

"I know the feeling. I think the Academy is planning on taking the kids out on weekend survival training – I'll bring over some sake and we can see about negotiating."

* * *

Sasuke sighed – it was absolutely impossible to get anywhere with the village in panicked lockdown from the earlier explosion. He'd given up on approaching the Hokage any time soon, and instead had made his way to the nearest park he could – not that he'd been too certain where that was, given that Shisui's transportation jutsu had completely thrown off his internal direction sensor.

"Kenshin!" Shisui called, and Sasuke groaned desperately.

"Don't you have better things to do with your time?" he asked. "Ensure village security, like a good little ninja?"

"I think that's the most emotion I've ever seen you show," Shisui said with some surprise. "And no, I've been kicked off active duty again. I didn't tell you that I'd been injured, did I?"

"Would I have cared?" Sasuke asked, his mouth set in a straight line. Orochimaru would have _killed_ him for the lack of discipline he was showing.

"Probably not," Shisui said. "Anyway, we were discussing how you were lying, before we were so rudely interrupted."

Sasuke gave up. Shisui had somehow managed to exceed that little brat Ryuu in sheer annoyance levels.

"See, way I reckon it," Shisui continued, emboldened by the lack of rebuttal, "Sandaime would never have let you stay in the Village if he wasn't sure of your loyalties – let alone let you near Yon- the Uzumaki kid. And there's no way you can be sure of the loyalties of a wandering-nin, because they're a bunch of treacherous bastards at the best of times, so he must've known you in some other way. And that whole confrontation thing with Sandaime?" Sasuke listened to him with a faint air of bewilderment, as Shisui got rapidly more excited, gesticulating as conclusions came to him. "That was faked. Completely faked. I mean, _obviously _so. Seriously, what are the chances of having an Uchiha ANBU on duty in Sandaime's office at the same time as some apparently random unknown shinobi who apparently used to have the sharingan comes in for an interview?" Shisui kept on talking, a note of dawning realisation in his voice. "And all the restrictions on the sharingan. He's probably been waiting for ages to put those in place. There's no way he could have come up with all of the specifics, made all of the personnel available for some random decree he came up with overnight. He just needed an excuse to initiate it – and then you come along, conveniently blinded so no one can actually tell whether you had the sharingan or not but appearance-wise close enough to an Uchiha that you might be one of the clan, pulling out the spiel of bullshit on how the sharingan messes people up-"

"Yes," Sasuke deadpanned. "That's it. This is all a huge conspiracy against the Uchiha clan. You found us out."

There was a searching pause, and Sasuke heard Shisui take a half-step forward, heard the faint scrape of flesh against – teeth? Was he biting his lip?

"A- deterioration of emotional control, you said," Shisui muttered, the words sounding like they had been dragged out of him. "You said you killed- Haru, was it? A lover?"

Sasuke swallowed, not expecting the sudden change of topic. Haru he'd told them, but suddenly he wanted to confess – not some unknown _Haru_, but _Naruto_. Not a lover, he wanted to say. Closer than a lover, _more_ than a lover. Every time I tried to push him away, he'd always come back; bullheaded, determined to believe in me when no one else did. He'd forgive me anything, even when I didn't deserve to be forgiven, but the sharingan – it made everything seem so _clear_, so _logical _in my mind. It- fixates your mind on what you want, and suddenly everything else is irrelevant, and Naruto- _fuck it, I just want him back_. This Naruto; he's fine, he helps me repent, he makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile with my life, like I've got something to live for, but he's not _my _Naruto. The words hovered on his tongue, and-

"Not a lover," he said, pretending to himself that his voice was steady – and it _was_; no one but a well-trained shinobi would hear the faint quiver. "A friend."

"Was he related to the Uzumaki kid?" Shisui said, a tinge of sympathy in his voice that had Sasuke wanting to bristle indignantly.

"Why would you think that?" he asked after a few moments, making sure he was as composed as possible. He knew it wouldn't work too well – Shisui had seen too much in the bits of emotion he had displayed – but maybe he could let Shisui come up with a convincing story that wouldn't require Sasuke's confirmation one way or another.

"A lot of people felt they owed Yondaime. Some of them even let it carry on over to his legacy – you know, making sure rumours don't get out of control, and the like. My parents- they might not have been the most successful of shinobi and they never activated their sharingan, but that just meant they were more loyal to Yondaime than to the clan, and they wouldn't let anything happen to the kid after Yondaime gave his life for Konoha."

"Is there a reason you're spilling your life story out to me?" Sasuke inquired blandly, not sure whether to feel intrigued or disapproving. Shisui could be trying to weave some intricate lie, but there was something in his voice – in the slightly agitated flickers of chakra – that told Sasuke this was true. What kind of idiot started talking about these sort of secrets to someone he barely knew?

Shisui huffed a brief laugh. "You really can be a bastard, can't you? Maybe I'm hoping for some reciprocation eventually. What I was trying to get at though is that even though they felt they owed Yondaime everything, and even though they'd stop people from outright harming the kid, they'd never have taken him in. They'd never have done half of what you're doing for him. And if this Haru felt half as strongly as you do, then-" Shisui paused, as if trying to seek out the right words, the right phrases for what he was trying to say. "Look, if he was a wandering-nin, either he was Yondaime's bastard brother and he was trying to live up to his brother or relative or whatever the hell Yondaime was to him which isn't possible because then he would've belonged in Konoha, or it's not Yondaime he's related to and he doesn't feel he owes Yondaime anything, because it's the Uzumaki kid he's related to and he was just using Yondaime as an excuse. Because there's no way that a wandering-nin could ever feel that indebted to the kage of a shinobi nation. He'd've been signed up for Konoha or something-"

Sasuke tried not to frown as he slowly sorted through the convoluted reasoning. "Why couldn't he have belonged to Konoha?"

"What?" Shisui asked, startled.

"You said if he was a wandering-nin that felt that kind of debt to Konoha, he would have been adopted into the ranks. What makes you think he wasn't?"

"Well, he would have taken the kid in, wouldn't he?" Shisui said, and Sasuke sighed.

"Haven't you already accused me of being some sort of deep undercover agent? What makes you think Haru wasn't?"

"So you're admitting it," Shisui said, sounding satisfied.

"What?" Sasuke was almost completely lost.

"You're admitting you belong to the village. "

"Was this all some convoluted way of getting me to say I belonged to Root or something?" Sasuke demanded incredulously.

"And how would you know about Root if you didn't have the classification?" Shisui continued smugly.

"Uchiha-san-"

"Shisui," he corrected. "I'm not accusing you of belonging to Root, naturally – although the knowledge you have of its existence is interesting _and_ further confirmation of my suspicions – because Root doesn't quite deal in the same missions as you seem to be carrying out. I _do _think I know which operation you've been working on, but I won't ask you to confirm it. I understand that you'll have to keep classified information quiet. "

Sasuke decided not to say anything.

"Returning to my original question though – was Haru related to Uzumaki Naruto?"

Sasuke was thoroughly frustrated by this point – if all the Uchiha clan had been like Shisui, he could suddenly empathise with Itachi's desire to kill them. "I don't know," he said curtly. "We didn't talk about our relatives."

"But they looked alike."

Sasuke stilled. "I'm not sure if it's occurred to you Uchiha-san-"

"Shisui," he was corrected again. "You seem intelligent enough to remember my name, even if you do insist on not using it-"

"I'm blind," he said, cutting Shisui off.

"I had noticed," Shisui said.

"How would I then know what Naruto looks like?" Sasuke said with forced patience.

"The way he acts then," Shisui dismissed. "You get a peculiar look on your face when the Uzumaki boy acts in a certain fashion – reminding you of him?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "Have you been stalking me?" he asked.

"Hardly relevant," Shisui said. "If you'd please stop avoiding the question-"

"Kenshin-sensei!"

There was barely a moment's notice before a fast-moving babble hit him, Ino clinging to one of his legs.

"There was this guy, and he, liked, _touched_ Naruto, and he was really weird, and 'tou-san said he was a civilian and an escaped criminal but he moved like a ninja and he used this totally awesome jutsu, and do you know what it was?"

Sasuke felt his finger twitch in involuntary response as he deciphered the childish babble. "Ino-chan?" he questioned after a moment.

"Yes sensei?" she chirped.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the Academy?"

"Me an' Naruto bunked way earlier – that's how the guy found Naruto, which was _way _weird, but it woulda been weirder if he had to break into the Academy to do his weirdo 'you are the blessy save-yer' thing-"

"Blessed savior?"

"I totally said that sensei! Anyway, it was _so _weird, right Naruto?"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "He made my chakra feel strange. And then he just disappeared!"

"Yeah, and then there were two others and they ran away – prob'ly 'cause they knew me 'n Naruto would've _owned _them 'cause we're awesome like that."

"I'm sure," Sasuke said, his palms itching with the need to make sure that Naruto was okay – that whatever had been done to his chakra did him no harm. "Come on. If you come home and let me check you over to make sure there was no harm done I'll ignore the fact that you were bunking off."

"C'n we have ramen?" Naruto asked solemnly.

"If there's any in the house – and if you then escort me to the Hokage's Tower."

There was a long moment of consideration, then a quick whispered conversation ("then we have a real excuse to give to Iruka-sensei!"). "Deal," Ino said confidently. "Can we go now?"

"Kenshin-" Shisui said, and Sasuke turned his head.

"Later."

There was a soft grumble of discontent, but no further complaint, so Sasuke assumed he agreed. Turning back to the children, he managed a small smile. "Lead the way," he said, and Naruto grabbed his hand, dragging him along.

* * *

END CHAPTER


	6. Part 1, 6 of 6

**AN: **No excuse. Sorry guys. Also unedited, so don't laugh too much. Feel free to drop constructive criticism at any point – best ways would be through PM or LJ. As always, updates are faster on my LJ and tend to contain side stories/future snippets and the like. If your hatred of my update rates gets to be too much for you, you may console yourself with the fact that I'm a thousand words into the next chapter. By my calculations, that means I should finish some time in the next decade. =D

I'm slowwwly replying to your reviews if you left one, but it's possible I won't get around to it because I am a massively lazy git. If you have a question/criticism/abuse you'd really like answered, PM or LJ me. Or review with a 'plz2be answering this, you lazy bastard'. Whichever you prefer, really.

* * *

**Two Steps Back**

**Chapter 5**

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* * *

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Sasuke threw himself to the ground, rolling neatly as a tiny fireball blazed past the spot where his head had been.

"Rookie-san," he called, barely keeping the irritation out of his voice and entirely unable to keep from emphasising the 'rookie'. "When I told you to practice that jutsu, I didn't mean for you to use me as your target."

"But Hideyoshi-sensei!" the rookie ANBU called from across the field, her voice full of barely suppressed smarm. "How else can I keep you appraised of my progress?" Sasuke could only assume he wasn't meant to hear the muttered "blind bastard" that she directed to her companions, nor the stifled snickers.

"How kind of you," he said, his voice miraculously free of the venom he felt. "You're using too much chakra for your information. It's an assassination technique, not a genin-level jutsu where chakra doesn't matter. The control has to be precise."

"I don't know, Kenshin. Are you sure you're not overestimating them?" one of the ANBU captains said drily – the one who'd introduced himself as B8 ("but call me Bait. Everyone else does, because they think they're deeply witty.") He flicked a kunai across his fingers with an insistent _whir_ring. "They're only rookies after all – couldn't get into a genin team and barely four years in the reserve corps to back them up. What would they know about control?"

There were barely stifled flickers of chakra as the rookies tried not to show exactly how insulted they were, and Sasuke managed to keep his face bland with some difficulty. "Perhaps they should spend some time working on their control, then, before the next session," he said, raising his voice just slightly. "There's one more jutsu for them to learn, and I'd hate to have to explain to Sandaime-sama how the entire rookie intake for ANBU has managed to blow themselves up by mistake."

There were low grumbles, and another of the captains huffed in amusement – J4, Sasuke thought, but he wasn't certain. "I think that was a signal for you to scram, rookies," she drawled. "I sure don't want to see your faces anymore."

There was a certain amount of light scuffling as the rookies filed out, and Sasuke could barely keep his contempt from showing. _These_ were to supposed to form the brutally efficient Konoha ANBU? Itachi's accomplishments didn't seem quite as impressive any more.

"Kami weeping," Bait said with wry amusement when the last of the footsteps had faded away. "You'd think we were recruiting them straight out of the Academy from their behaviour."

"I don't know," Sasuke said, his mouth half-twisting into a smirk. "Even the Academy students I teach have managed to figure out that just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm deaf."

Bait snorted. "We'll fail half of them back into the reserve corps, and a couple of missions will sort the rest of them out. If not, they're willing cannon-fodder."

Sasuke quirked a corner of his mouth in a brief smile. "I always thought that ANBU came from the genin teams," he said, half-musing but leaving the statement open to answers.

"Common mistake," Bait said sagely. "The jounin-led threes are being trained as commanders. We'll recruit a couple of them in when they reach chuunin and fast-track them to squad captain."

Sasuke cocked his head in question, and Bait snorted again.

"We've got a hundred and fifty ANBU available at any one time, Hideyoshi-san. The maximum number of jounin-led squads ever taken on in a year is four. Even if we were to recruit everyone in for a year's minimum service, we can have up to thirty casualties a year. We wouldn't be able to keep functioning if we only recruited from the squad kiddies."

"And besides that," J4 added from the behind, moving so silently that Sasuke had barely noticed her presence, "the squad kids are all so _conspicuous_."

Bait hummed in agreement, took one look at Sasuke's face, and burst out laughing. "Come on, Hideyoshi! We all but wave them in front of the other Villages' noses at the Chuunin Exams. Oh look! That kid from Konoha's using Konoha-specific genjutsu in an innovative yet deeply effective fashion! Oh look! That ANBU does the exact same thing, with the exact same jutsu that was used by a Konoha genin in the Chuunin exam! I wonder where they came from?"

"By the end of the Chuunin Exams, all the competitors have reports written up on them by the Intelligence Department," J4 said. "Believe me, we can identify those kids, whatever Village they're from, for the next fifty years."

"Fighting style rarely changes significantly," Bait said, almost tag-teaming with J4. Sasuke thought he might have shrugged but wasn't sure – ANBU clothing was designed to make as little noise as possible, after all.

"So some of the reserve corps gets recruited into ANBU," he said slowly.

"Some into the hunter-nin, some into the different departments... A couple of them might even have been roped into your organisation. We're missing a few of the better recruits this year."

Sasuke stilled, and then sighed through his nose. "My organisation?" he asked mildly. Sooner or later someone was going to realise that he didn't have a clue about the organisation he supposedly belonged to – he wasn't looking forward to the reaction from that.

"Shisui's not the most subtle of people," Bait said, a grin in his voice.

"I thought ANBU were supposed to know how to keep their mouths shut," Sasuke said, managing for the most part to sound unbothered.

"Only around the civvies," J4 said cheerfully. "You can _never_ ban gossip entirely."

Sasuke hummed faintly. Unfortunately true; it explained why Intelligence had a few people dedicated to spreading false rumours through the village. At least then enemy spies couldn't be certain that what they were learning was accurate, even if in the ideal world they wouldn't be learning anything.

"Right, well," Bait said, rubbing his hands together. "That you done for the day Hideyoshi-san?"

"As you've dismissed my class for me, it would seem so," Sasuke said dryly.

J4 snickered slightly. "It's hardly like any of them were worth the time," she said. "If they've any sense, they'll continue training on their own."

Sasuke shook his head slightly and one of the nameless captains laughed. "Yeah, I wouldn't bet on them training, either," he said, his voice deep and raspy.

Sasuke allowed one corner of his mouth to twitch up, and nodded to them all as he left. Behind him, he could hear the captains begin to disperse, Bait murmuring to J4 about something that Sasuke suspected he didn't want to know.

* * *

"Sometimes," Inoichi said with an utterly satisfied sigh, collapsing on a sofa with a soft 'thwump', "I really love the Academy. I'm free for another hour, at least."

Sasuke kept his face unsmiling despite his own amusement, even as he reached out with his foot to nudge aside the shuriken he knew Shizuka would have left tossed on the floor. Once satisfied his path was clear he moved confidently to the unoccupied chair and slid into it noiselessly. "How did you deal when Ino was younger?" he asked mildly, relaxing his muscles almost imperceptibly.

"It was different!" Inoichi protested. "I only had one kid to cause chaos, for a starter. Since she's met Naruto..." he trailed off, but Sasuke could hear the note of amusement underlying the complaint.

"They work well together," Sasuke said after a pause. In fact, all of hisbrats were doing particularly well – even if Tenten and Daisuke were trying to fail themselves into a lower year to join their friends.

"They're not the only ones who've improved significantly," Inoichi said, a tone of absolute smugness in his voice. "Chouji beat the Inuzuka boy into the ground in their last spar – you should have _seen_ Tsume's face."

"You dislike the Inuzukas?" Sasuke said, a little surprised by this. He hadn't thought there was any particular rivalry involving the dog clan – but he was coming to realise that he knew very little about Konoha's internal diplomacy.

Inoichi hummed briefly, as if trying to find the right words. "Not – _dislike_ precisely," he said finally. "They're an older clan though, and fairly big so they have tendency to feel that they can say what they like about people, no matter how much offense it causes."

"Hm?" Sasuke asked, wondering briefly what the time was. Shizuka was supposed to be returning around six

Inoichi laughed shortly. "Maybe you don't recognise it too much, considering your origins," he said. "The Hyuuga, the Uchiha, the Inuzuka, the Narita – even the Aburame to some extent – are all absolute _dicks_. They make up a fair proportion of our jounin and even their clan civilians have a decent idea of how to fight. Konoha simply can't afford to offend them, so they can get away with absolutely ridiculous behaviour. Yamanaka and Akimichi? We're baby clans. Our bloodlines evolved in the past three to four generations – my grandfather was the first person to bear the Yamanaka mindwalk ability. I've got a cousin who has two children who'll be entering the Academy in a few years – but them and Ino, that's it as far as the Yamanaka are concerned. My brother and his wife died in the Kyuubi attack and…" he hesitated, and there was the sound of his hand running through hair. "She was pregnant. It's just- I can't-" There was the scrape of teeth against his lip, and then he sighed. "Now's not the time, I guess. "

Sasuke stilled, piecing things together slowly. "Naruto-"

"Kenshin," Inoichi said. "Not… not yet, okay? I can't just…" he trailed off, and then changed the subject abruptly, voice suddenly turning cheerful. Sasuke didn't listen too carefully, too busy flickering back over the information and trying to place it in his knowledge. It just didn't make sense – the blond hair could be attributed to Yamanaka genes, but Naruto looked far too much like Yondaime for it to be a coincidence. No real point in thinking about it without the facts however, so he shelved it for later consideration.

"It's a shame you were out with the rookies today," he was saying as Sasuke tuned back in. "Interesting happenings in the world of T&I."

"Oh?" Sasuke said mildly, not really paying attention.

"Oh indeed," Inoichi said. "Takigakure's put a bounty of thirty million ryo on the head of Kiyoshi Hisui. I've never even heard of the girl!" Inoichi shook his head in frustration. "Seriously, that's nearly a year's worth of missions they're spending on the return of some unknown, dead or alive." He paused, and Sasuke realised with faint amusement that he was waiting for answers, hoping that some reason could be pulled out of mid-air.

A faint memory niggled at him, and he frowned, trying to rewind.

"Kenshin?" Inoichi said hopefully. "That's a thinking face. You know something?"

"I've heard the name," he said slowly – and Naruto's face flickered into his mind.

"_You think Kyuubi will be enough to protect me from Akatsuki? They killed Kiyoshi Hisui five years ago, and she held the seven-tails." His face was tight, tension thrumming through his body._

"_She was fourteen, specialised in stealth and earth jutsu and went up against Zetsu and Orochimaru alone. You're eighteen, you have one of the sannin following you around like a lost puppy and you know a ridiculous amount of high-level ninjutsu. It's hardly the same situation," Karin said, inserting herself into the conversation with a sniff. "Stop trying to get Sasuke-kun to return for your sake. It'll hardly be a loss if-"_

"_Karin," Sasuke cut off sharply._

"_I wasn't trying to get him to return," Naruto said, a mulish expression on his face. "I wouldn't do that – they'd execute him if he came back now-"_

"She'd be..." he calculated quickly, "Eight years old right now."

Inoichi made a choking sound. "Thirty million-! On an _eight year old?_"

Sasuke hummed. "She's also the jinchuuriki for the seven tails, if I remember correctly," he added in an off-handed manner.

There was a pause. "Ah," Inoichi acknowledged finally. "That... might make things different."

Sasuke nodded, trying not to frown – what had changed to make the seven tails go missing? He couldn't imagine that Akatsuki had become so active, just because of his presence, and there was no other-

- Wait. Add up the changes; the pieces that he _knew_ weren't the same...

Ideas begin to click into place – it was a ridiculous supposition, but maybe, just maybe-

"The jailbreak," he said shortly. "There was one man you were unable to account for, I believe."

"Ye-es," Inoichi said slowly, clearly not getting what Sasuke was working at.

"Before he left, he accosted Naruto and called him 'the blessed saviour'." Sasuke's voice was factual as he began reeling off his points. "He altered the flow of Naruto's chakra in some way; on checking it, the hospital staff said that the chakra of Naruto's... tenant was being assimilated more effectively."

Sasuke took a breath. "He was arrested for making outlandish statements about jinchuuriki – that they were the protectors of mankind, chosen of the divine and should be honoured for keeping their demons at bay."

Inoichi made a sound of affirmation, but he sounded thoroughly unconvinced at where this was leading.

"His ability to integrate Naruto's chakra with that of his tenant implies familiarity with demonic chakra – which also implies that he would be able to _detect _it. Not long after he escapes Konoha, a jinchuuriki happens to go missing – and wasn't he tracked to the border of Takigakure?"

"Don't you think you're reaching a bit?" Inoichi asked, but there was some worry in his voice. Sasuke raised a shoulder in a shrug, and Inoichi sighed through his nose. "I don't like it," he said, and there was a distinct note of displeasure coming through.

Sasuke grunted.

"What do you think he'll do with the jinchuuriki?" Inoichi said abruptly, and Sasuke could tell he had already committed the conversation to memory to report back.

"Don't know," he said after a moment, then quirked a grin. "Maybe he'll form his own village to worship the jinchuuriki, with the intention of eventually subduing the other ninja villages and converting the entire of the Hidden Continent to the new religion."

There was a long pregnant silence. "Don't even joke about that," Inoichi said seriously. "That is... that's just-"

"Who said I was joking?" Sasuke said mildly.

"How do you know so much classified information anyway? I'm sure you shouldn't know where ANBU managed to track him to," Inoichi said, but he didn't sound too worried about the leak in information – more preoccupied in looking for a flaw in Sasuke's argument.

"Inoichi, you gossip," Sasuke deadpanned.

"I do not!" Inoichi exclaimed in outrage.

Sasuke made a faint noise of amusement. "Fine, then. When pumping me for information, you reveal a lot about current affairs in Konoha." He paused briefly. "Shisui-san does much the same."

"He's still talking to you?"

"More like stalking me," Sasuke said dryly. "He's starting to grow on me, though – he's a very useful kunai target for the kids during practices.

Inoichi hummed. "When you see him next," he began hesitantly, "Could you mention something?"

"Is this going to be classified?" Sasuke asked with slight wariness. Inoichi snorted.

"Sandaime trusts you." There was a pause. "Mostly. He's forbidden council surveillance, anyway, and he keeps on summoning you up to his office for friendly chats _and_ you're training ANBU, so he trusts you with their details."

"Which means?" Sasuke asked, slightly surprised at the news that Sandaime had withdrawn surveillance – if he even had any in the first place. He knew the old man was a good judge of character, but wasn't this putting faith in his own abilities a bit too far? What would have happened if Sasuke _had_ been a spy?

"Which means he's not going to care too much if I give you classified information." Inoichi paused. "There's an..._ understanding_ that we should co-operate with you among Intell. Why do you think we're taking so much of your knowledge on faith?"

"So, what? You're the official liaison?"

"That, and I actually like you for some reason. I've not really worked out why yet," Inoichi said mildly. "Anyway, Shisui."

"Why me?"

"Look, it-" Inoichi sighed. "He's more likely to listen to you than me and, okay, I probably shouldn't be talking about this with you, but like I said, Sandaime trusts you and that's more than enough for me. I was present at the Uchiha kid's psychological examination yesterday and there is something _seriously _wrong with that kid."

"Itachi?"

"Yeah. I mean, he answered all the questions correctly but they were- textbook correct, if you get me. On all the questions regarding Konoha, though, or his clan or people he worked with – he clammed up. It was like he was dealing with an interrogation."

Sasuke paused, frowning slightly. "How so?" he asked – was it just usage of the sharingan setting in?

Inoichi fiddled briefly with his clothes, the slight rustling sound an obvious attempt at distraction. "He wouldn't mention any facts until we mentioned them first – people's names, how they were related to him, their talents... Once or twice he turned the questioning around, and it was like he wasn't satisfied by any of the answers he got. It was just... off."

"What happened?"

Inoichi snorted. "What do you think happened? Our little Uchiha prodigy was pronounced completely mentally sound and I was told not to be so paranoid. The doctor carrying out the examination, incidentally, is part of the Arakaki clan who just so happen to need Uchiha support for their proposed clan compound."

Sasuke cocked his head to one side, frowning internally. He'd never heard anything suggesting that Itachi might be unstable before – well, anything save the obvious. Some part of him wanted to dismiss what Inoichi was saying, but at the same time-

"What do you want me to tell Shisui?" he said, and Inoichi let out a sigh of relief which confused Sasuke more than he was willing to admit. There was no logical reason for him _not_ to oblige Inoichi, and he wasn't an entirely unreasonable person – was he? He would have thought Inoichi knew him better than that by now.

"Maybe," Inoichi began, "- Maybe just... suggest that they're very careful not to ask Itachi anything that could be seen as interrogative. Don't ask about the missions, or anything that might be classified, that kind of stuff. And don't pump him for information."

"You think he's delusional," Sasuke said.

"I don't _know_," Inoichi said, his voice exasperated. "He's not- there's no- I just think they should be very careful around him. Maybe it's just paranoia, but better safe than sorry, right? From what I've heard, his last mission was a mess and-" Inoichi sighed. "I didn't tell you this, okay? I've not told you anything today, and especially not what I'm about to tell you."

Sasuke nodded slowly, feeling the faint prickle of discomfort running up and down his spine. It was somehow disconcerting to think that maybe his much-hated older brother wasn't just evil but unstable – and he had the feeling that whatever Inoichi had to say was just going to throw his view of the world that bit further askew.

"Itachi was separated from his squadron for two hours. His subordinates say that there was some evidence of a fight, but it looked like Itachi had come out worse – they assumed he'd managed to flee from his attacker, but he seemed disorientated, and didn't recognise them initially. Our dear doctor Arakaki suggests it was just combat shock, and that maybe he hit his head briefly, but-" Inoichi took a breath. "There's just something _wrong_ about this situation, you know? And I'm really not comfortable with the fact that if Sandaime hadn't ordered psychological examinations, we wouldn't know any of this."

"I'll speak to Shisui," Sasuke said. "In fact-"

There was the noisy slamming of the door and Naruto's voice pierced the air as he babbled cheerfully at Shizuka. "An' then Kiba was all 'you're just a girl' but Sakura was like, 'but I'm still _ten thousand times _cooler than you' and like, totally kicked him in the face, an' Ino laughed at him, an' then _he_ called her a mangy bitch – what does that mean anyway – and then she totally was all 'Any of us could _own _you', 'cause we _totally_ could, an'-"

"Hey Kenshin-sensei," Shizuka greeted, and there was a faintly audible _thump_ that Sasuke suspected was her shoving Naruto into the wall. He was proven right a second later as Naruto let out a warcry, presumably leaping at her, and the two fell onto the floor in a fast scuffle.

"Shizuka," Sasuke returned the greeting calmly, ignoring the amused half-snort Inoichi let out. "You're heading over to the Uchiha compound now, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Shizuka said. Sasuke imagined she had Narutp in some sort of pin, from the loud yelping sounds he was making. "I gotta drop some tags off for Masashi-san, then me an' the brat were gonna do stealth trainin' over in sector 14. Why?"

"Stealth training?" Naruto whined. "I thought we were going to play hide an' seek!"

"Same thing," Shizuka hissed at him. "Don' be a brat, or we won't do neither, yeah?"

"If you could get a message passed on to Shisui-san that I'd like to talk to him at some point, I'd appreciate it," Sasuke said. He paused, thought about what Inoichi had said, and then amended his statement. "As soon as he can manage it."

Inoichi grunted in satisfaction.

"Sure, sure," Shizuka said cheerfully. "C'mon mini-Yondaime."

"Don't call me that!" Naruto shouted and another scuffle promptly ensued. Sasuke sighed in faint amusement, even as Inoichi levered himself up from his chair.

"I should be going too," he said with a sigh. "No doubt Ino's off driving her mother insane already."

"Nuh-uh," Naruto contradicted, even as he managed to attach himself to Sasuke's legs, away from Shizuka's fists. "Ino got detention 'cause she kicked Kiba in the balls, like, five times. Iruka said we shouldn't be tryin' to…" he paused over his words, trying to pronounce them correctly, "e-mas-cu-late our fellow Konohans, even if they deserve it."

Inoichi tried unsuccessfully to suppress his snort. "Well then," he said. "I guess I should be going to try and smooth things over with Tsume."

"You mean laugh at her," Sasuke said dryly.

"Why, Kenshin," Inoichi said, affecting surprise. "Your astuteness is matched only by your attractiveness. And I might add that you are very attractive indeed, or so my wife informs me."

Sasuke shook his head, wondering again at the easy comradeship he'd managed to assemble in this past Konoha – he couldn't really remember when he'd last been so comfortable around people. It was an… odd feeling. ""Scram," he said, and then poked at Naruto's head. "You too, brat. Go run your errands and have fun with Shizuka."

There was a various amount of grumbling as people relocated themselves out of the house, but it happened eventually, much to Sasuke's pleasure. He rolled his shoulders back peaceably and let his chakra flow out around him in waves. He was getting to be fairly good at manoeuvring using only his chakra, but there were some obvious flaws in his methods. While he could identify where people were without much of an issue – the chakra they gave off made them fairly easy to recognise – inanimate objects were still a problem. Trees and the like were possible to register; they were at least living.

Sasuke's mouth twisted in slight amusement at his thoughts. This kind of chakra sensitivity was the kind many ninja would kill to get their hands on; typical that he mastered it when he'd probably never be going into the field again. That said, it wasn't too difficult to understand once you had the hang of it – maybe he should think about teaching more carefully. If he took on a few more students, he could move out of Shizuka's house, maybe get an apartment; relying on other people so much chafed at his pride. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a place where he and Naruto could fit, if he kept an eye on the expenses…

It was decidedly odd, thinking about money. It wasn't ever something he'd really worried about, but now that he couldn't get into the Uchiha accounts, or run high-class missions he was starting to see how potentially difficult it could be. He'd landed on his feet here, as far as housing was concerned – all he really needed to do was contribute to food and utilities. He wasn't running through many weapons, because he wasn't an active ninja, but even so… He grimaced slightly, and then cocked his head to one side as something flicked at the edge of his consciousness.

"Come in!" he shouted, before Shisui could knock and there was an audible hesitation.

"Someday," Shisui said, slipping his shoes off as he entered, "I'm going to work out how you do that."

"I told you," Sasuke deadpanned. "Psychic powers."He

Shisui laughed, but there was a forced note to it. "Kenshin," he said after a brief moment . "Is it urgent?"

"Reasonably," Sasuke said mildly. "Why? Is there something you have to do?"

Shisui shifted slightly on his feet. "I don't _have _to," he said reluctantly "It's just-" he cut himself off. "No matter. I'm more interested in what you have to say, anyway."

Sasuke found himself believing that, rather surprisingly. Shisui did go out of his way to hunt him down and talk – ask for advice on jutsu, on battle tactics, on _dates_ even, and why he thought Sasuke would have _any_ idea about romance was beyond comprehension, really – and Sasuke had grown used to the almost daily drop ins. That was neither here nor there, however-

"Itachi," he said, and Shisui swore.

"You too?" he said. "I _knew_ there was something wrong with him, whatever Fugaku said. I was going to talk to him-"

"Don't," Sasuke interrupted, not too happy at what he was saying – but still, Shisui was a friend, wasn't he? Didn't he deserve a warning? It wasn't going to throw the future off too much, to pass a message on; for all he knew, Inoichi would have got the warning out to Uchiha clan anyway.

"What?" Shisui asked, sounding confused, and Sasuke repeated himself.

"Don't. Apparently Itachi's not reacting well to questions." He paused, and grimaced faintly. "Apparently Intell. is worried he might react violently if pushed."

"What?" Shisui's voice was bewildered. "The psych report didn't say anything about that."

"Clan politics," Sasuke offered in explanation, and Shisui grumbled.

"I was going to corner him today," he said, a distinctly petulant note in his voice. "Guess not then."

Sasuke stilled – going to corner him today? "Shisui," he said, very calmly. "What's the date today?"

"Uh, sixteenth. Why?"

Sasuke fought to keep himself from blanching. Not going to change the timeline? _Fuck_. Shisui was supposed to die today – what happened now? Was the Uchiha clan still going to be killed? He swallowed carefully, keeping his face impassive.

"No reason," he said, voice calm.

"Oh no," Shisui laughed. "No way in _hell_ are you pulling that one on me. There's something supposed to be happening today, right? Something that I'm not supposed to know about? _Spill_."

"Classified," Sasuke said, and Shisui paused. Sasuke could almost feel him examining his face carefully.

"Above my rank?" he asked cautiously, and Sasuke gave a sharp nod. "Fuck." Shisui shuffled, his feet slipping across the wooden floor, and then sighed. "Look, if Itachi's so dangerous, then why are Shizuka and your brat going to train in the same sector as him? I mean, Shizuka can't keep her mouth shut at the best of- Kenshin?"

Sasuke felt as though he'd been punched, hands fumbling into seals even as he tried to recall the co-ordinates for sector 14. Shisui swore, grabbing hold of his shoulder as the last hand seal fell into place and the uncomfortable press of _between spaces_ pressed down on them, white seconds ticking away for too long.

They stumbled out into the forest clearing, air dissipating around them in soft gusts. Shisui took a step away, releasing his hold on Sasuke as he swivelled, his bare feet all but silent against the grass. There was nothing – the kind of quiet that hovered, empty and echoing.

Shisui swallowed next to him, deciding not to move as Sasuke focused on sending waves of chakra out. Nothing – if they were there, it was outside of his range. "I can't-" he said in frustration, and Shisui jumped into a nearby tree.

"It's too dense," he called down. "We'll have to run a search pattern if we want to find them."

Sasuke stayed still as he thought. Maybe he was just panicking – there was nothing to say that Itachi would _necessarily_ attack someone today. Chances were, he wouldn't even-

_'tbreatheitwaspressingohgodhe'dneverbeenso afraidinhislife- somebodynokyuubi_- Naruto! He'd felt this chakra before, but never so- _never so_-

Shisui let out a choking whimper, falling from the tree and barely cushioning his landing. "That-" he got out, voice cracking in fear as the chakra pulsed out and out.

"Naruto-" Sasuke said desperately, "We have to-"

Shisui grabbed his arm, pulling him along at a half-run, his hand shaking almost uncontrollably. "Th-this way-" he got out, all but hauling Sasuke behind him. Shisui's grip was tight, almost desperately so – in the back of his mind, Sasuke noted that this was probably the Uchiha's first real encounter with extreme fear but he couldn't concentrate on that because _something was wrong with Naruto_.

As they got closer, a high-pitched keening sound started up; a breathless scream that went on and on, digging down into his eardrums, rattling in his bones. It was morphing – from fear, to pain, to mindless, shrieking agony, and Sasuke was letting swearwords tumble down in his mind, trying to keep himself off the fear that wanted him to run.

Branches were slapping at his arms as he ran, Shisui's hand barely tugging him out of the way of tree trunks and rocks and- and whatever the hell there was in the damned training ground and as soon as he got Naruto out of here alive he was going to bulldoze over this damn place and brick it up or something. He put on a burst of speed, screwing his eyes up against the sound that was drilling into him, willing it just to- stop.

They burst out of the trees, Sasuke stumbling over a body on the ground as Shisui dropped his arm to move forward. "Itachi-" he shouted, barely audible over the screaming.

And then it stopped. The chakra died out, the screaming petered down to a broken whimpering sound and Sasuke pushed himself up off the still-warm body on the ground, unsure if it was still alive and uncaring; female, Shizuka.

"Naruto?" he called uncertainly, wanting to hear the childish voice pipe up in response, hating himself for the waver in his voice. He sent out a pulse of chakra – there, three meters forward, a little to the left, in front of a curled up ball of teenager lay – Naruto?

"Itachi, what-" Shisui said, sounding stricken, reaching out-

There was a sharp cry and Itachi twisted- the sickening slick of a knife into flesh- Shisui choked, fell, and Itachi was on his feet, running, his feet thudding on the ground, an almost mindless keen dropping from his lips-

Sasuke frantically scrambled forward on the ground where he'd felt Naruto, ignoring Shisui beside him. His fingers caught a small hand, which flopped unresponsively when he tried to squeeze it.

No, no, _no-_

He dropped the hand and traced Naruto's arm up to his neck, pressing against the pulse point trying to find something-

Shisui was moaning continuously in the background, but Sasuke didn't care, couldn't care-

_There was no pulse._

_

* * *

_

**END PART ONE**


	7. Part 2, 1 of ?

**AN: **I realise this is going to be a deeply confusing switch to most people wanting to know what happened directly after Part 1, but I promise you will find out what happened. Eventually. :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

* * *

**Two Steps Back**

**Part 2**

**Chapter 1**

**

* * *

**

"Naruto!" Chouji called cheerfully. "You passed!"

Naruto blinked and then looked up with a fanged grin. His hair was kept out of his eyes with his forehead protector, and the whisker-marks that had been so pronounced as a child had faded to the point where they weren't even visible. He was wearing long black shorts and an orange jacket, and his hands were shoved in his pockets as he moved at an easy pace. "I'm wearin' the forehead protector, aren't I?" he shouted back, making his way into the classroom, and Chouji laughed.

"We weren't sure, because you missed the exam," he explained. "Sakura was frantic."

"I was not!" Sakura protested loudly, brushing short pink hair away from her eyes and making a note to herself to cut it again. "I just didn't think it would look good for Hideyoshi-sensei if his own son failed the genin exam." She turned huffily to Ino. "You! Why didn't you tell me that he'd still be able to pass?"

Ino held up her hands in mock surrender. "I didn't know for _certain_," she said. "I just knew there was something about a make-up exam because it wasn't Naruto's fault he missed it. And by the way-" she swivelled and held out a hand to Naruto, wiggling her fingers. "High-five bitch! You must have scored ridiculously highly to make up for all your absences."

"I'm just _that good_," Naruto said smugly, slapping Ino's hand and bumping her shoulder playfully as he slid into the seat next to her. "'Sides, they wouldn't have let me fail. They love me too much."

Shikamaru shook his head from behind them. "I can't believe you get away with so much," he said, but he sounded more entertained than anything – it was hard to tell under the apathy.

Sasuke huffed, his face drawn up into careful superiority. "There shouldn't be allowances made for anyone," he said, with careful weight. "To do so brings down the academy standards significantly." Ino rolled her eyes at Naruto, and he bared his teeth in a mocking grin.

"And this comes from the guy who wouldn't stop bitching for a month about not being able to take the genin exams early," Daisuke interjected, leaning back on one elbow. He ran a hand through his dark hair affectedly, spiking it up slightly as he pitched his voice into a high whine. "But _sensei_, it's not_ fair_, I'm an _Uchiha_."

Sasuke's hair seemed to bristle in offence, his composure failing as his eyebrows drew down into a forbidding glower. "I could beat _you_ in a fight any day," he hissed. "At least I didn't fail down a year."

"Alas," Daisuke sighed. "Probably true. Your words wound me, deep inside." Sakura rolled her eyes and elbowed him sharply in the stomach and Daisuke yelped, pouting at her. "Seriously Sakura," he muttered and then leant in closer so no one else could hear his words. "Him? Why?" Sakura flushed pink and refused to answer.

"Anyway," Ino said, raising an eyebrow at Naruto. "Team Yamanaka for the win?"

"Hell yes," Naruto whooped, and they high-fived again. Ayame groaned from where she was sat, in front of the two of them and sandwiched by two girls who were refusing to pay attention to the noise behind them.

"You guys are-"

"Awesome?" Naruto offered.

"Fantastic?" Ino said, leaning her head on her hand as she peered down at Ayame.

"Hilarious?"

"Devilishly attractive?"

"_Retarded_," Ayame said, shaking her head. They shrugged in unison and looked like they were about to respond when Iruka came through the door.

"Alright, _settle down_," he shouted, waiting for the grumbling to subside as students twisted around to face the front mutinously. "First of all, congratulations to you all on making genin," he said, his eyes passing across them indiscriminately. "I expect you to do Konoha proud." Naruto looked like he was about to say something to Ino, and Iruka narrowed his eyes. As if sensing his sensei's thoughts, Naruto leaned back without saying anything, and blinked his eyes angelically up at Iruka.

Iruka frowned, about to say something disapproving, and then changed his mind. "As a start to your career, you will be divided into three-man cells. These cells have been carefully formulated to bring out the best in every student, so there are to be _no_ complaints."

"Come on Team Yamanaka," Ino muttered, her fingers crossed, and Naruto bit back a laugh.

"Team One," Iruka said loudly, "Morioka Mai, Watanabe Kichirou, and Ito Takeshi. Your sensei will be Gekkou Hayate."

There was a variety of low-level grumbling as Iruka sorted the teams out – with the notable exception of the Kurama twins, who cheered loudly when they were put on Team Four together. None of Kenshin's students paid too much attention, however, until their names were read out.

"Team Six, Morino Daisuke, Namiashi Ayame and Sakamoto Yuu. Your sensei is Shiranui Genma."

Daisuke sighed and looked over to where Ayame sat, offering a two-fingered salute. She nodded back regally, both of them all but ignoring Yuu who was looking distinctly sulky. Sakura pulled a face and bumped shoulders with her best friend. "We'll still meet up, team or not," she muttered determinedly, and Daisuke nodded sharply. Iruka wasn't paying too much attention to the undercurrents, reading out the next team without glancing up from his scroll.

"Team Seven – Haruno Sakura, Hideyoshi Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

"…What?" Naruto said after a pause. "That makes absolutely no sense."

"I said there were to be no complaints, Naruto," Iruka snapped, and Naruto flailed.

"I wasn't complaining! Well, I was, but not in the way you meant!"

"He means that it seems a bit pointless to put us together when both Naruto and myself are support ninja. We'll have no one capable of fighting close up," Sakura interjected quickly, before things could devolve further.

"And our long-range is a massive dick who'll probably fireball me in the back," Naruto said helpfully, and Ino snickered.

"We could switch," Ayame said helpfully. "Daisuke for Naruto. I'm happy with that."

"Hey!" Daisuke objected, and Ayame eyed him.

"What?" she said. "You're best friends with Sakura and you're decent with close-range techniques. I thought you'd be jumping at the chance."

"Yeah, well, you didn't have to make it sound like you were getting the better deal with Naruto," Daisuke said, crossing his arms huffily.

"Enough!" Iruka snapped. "If you have any real problems, you may take submit them using the appropriate forms but as you are only genin, _you will not have any problems_. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Naruto said, a grin playing around his lips as he exchanged a look with Sakura. _What's got his panties in a twist? _they both thought, with varying degrees of disdain.

"Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi-"

"No way!" Sasuke shouted in protest. "That man's a disgrace-"

"Be QUIET!" Iruka bellowed, the veins standing out in his necks. "Hatake Kakashi is a jounin of Konoha and you will show him the appropriate respect, genin!"

Sasuke subsided, barely keeping from mumbling to himself. His father was not going to be happy about this – and the elders would spend their time complaining about how the Uchiha were being disregarded in Konoha. No doubt that make him train even harder tonight, but it would be worth it. He had to redeem the honour of the Uchiha, even if Konoha was determined not to allow him to do so.

"Team Eight is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. Your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma."

Ino sighed through her nose, looking at Naruto with miserable reluctance. "We're still being called Team Yamanaka," she informed her team-mates. Shikamaru grunted his acquiescence, and Chouji just smiled, relaxed.

Team Nine and Ten were finished without any further complaints, and Iruka snapped his scroll shut abruptly. He looked as though he was torn between saying something encouraging, and shouting at them all for their attitudes, but instead he just shook his head. "Your sensei will be meeting you in the classroom after lunch. Until then, you're all dismissed to get to know your team-mates."

The classroom erupted into a babble of noise as Iruka left, and Naruto slouched back in his seat. "Well, that sucks."

"Tell me about it," Ino said with a grimace. "I mean, Shikamaru and Chouji are good guys but- damn, we would have been _awesome_ together."

"Eh," Naruto said with a shrug. "Sooner or later we'll get assigned together. I mean, Sasuke doesn't exactly scream 'subtle', does he?"

They both turned to see where Sasuke was glowering a stuttering Sakura down, who was looking more distressed by the second at her team-mate's dismissal.

"Twenty seconds 'till she punches him?" Naruto suggested idly, and Ino rolled her eyes.

"Go and back your team-mate up, dummy," she said, shoving him out of his seat. "'Sides, Daisuke will break your head in if he thinks you're letting Sakura get bullied." Naruto huffed a laugh, getting to his feet.

"Twenty seconds 'till Daisuke punches him?" he offered hopefully, and Ino snickered. He shook himself, and bounced cheerfully over to where Sakura was standing awkwardly in front of Sasuke. "So, team-mates!" he greeted with a beaming grin, sticking two thumbs up. "We're goin' to be the number one team of pure awesomeness, right? Believe it!"

Sasuke looked at him, his normally carefully put together mask of superiority morphing into one of incredulity. Naruto managed to keep his fixed grin in place, although his shoulders were starting to shake with the attempt not to laugh. Sakura's helpless giggles broke Sasuke out of his shock, and he blinked twice, rapidly.

"Hideyoshi," he said, nodding curtly. There was a pause, and Sasuke seemed to be forcing himself into saying further words. "Haruno. I… look forward to working with both of you in a successful cell. My apologies, but I must leave you for a while." He nodded again to the both of them, and left swiftly.

Naruto watched him go with a look of fascination on his face – and he wasn't the only one. "My god," Daisuke said, in a tone of wonder. "Was _the_ Uchiha Sasuke almost civil there?"

"Daisuke!" Sakura protested, slapping at his arm, and Daisuke laughed.

"C'mon, Sakura, the guy's made an art-form out of being unpleasant. We mere mortals are far below the notice of the almighty Uchiha clan."

"Ah," Naruto said, an odd smile on his face. "But he is a genin now, making him an adult – and he does have to uphold the honour of the Uchiha."

"You think-" Ino said, from the side, eyes flicking to Naruto's as she tapped her knee twice. Naruto shook his head suddenly, losing the strange expression.

"Just an idea," he said, rubbing his thumb across his index finger, and Ino nodded in understanding. Shikamaru watched the two of them with sharp eyes but said nothing – just offered a quirked eyebrow when Naruto met his eyes in recognition.

"Anyway," Naruto said, looking around at everyone, as the other teams began filing out. Sakamoto Yuu took a long look at his team-mates, and left, in a bit of a huff. The rest of them – Kenshin's students – had gravitated to a clump at the back of the room, pulling out their lunches. "Dad burnt the rice again and I overslept, so I have no lunch. Would anyone like to donate to a good cause?"

Chouji laughed, pulling out what seemed to be the contents of an entire fridge with great cheer. "My mum was up last night cooking," he explained proudly. "She wanted to make sure we could celebrate, and she thinks _some _of us," and he glanced significantly at Ino and Naruto, "Are too skinny."

"Give," Ino said immediately, stashing her own lunch back in her bag. "Your mother is a goddess, Chouji."

"Seconded," Naruto agreed. "Did she do any of those things, with the pork and-"

Chouji pointed to one of the boxes, and Naruto moaned happily. "Remind me to take your mother flowers, Chouji," he said. "She is a beautiful, beautiful woman." Chouji was clearly fighting back a blush of pride, but he also seemed to be expecting the praise as he handed out various boxes to Kenshin's students, who had all clumped around him expectantly.

"Ooh," Ino said, raising a finger. "We have these new lilies in we could give her, from Wind country – they're _gorgeous_."

"The purple-pink ones, right?" Naruto said, clearly interested, and Shikamaru groaned.

"_Guys_. Can we talk about something interesting to the rest of us?" he interrupted, and Ino hmphed sulkily.

"Yeah – how about what you and Sakura are going to do with Ice Queen Uchiha," Daisuke said, after swallowing a mouthful of whatever-it-was he filched from a box.

"He's not that bad," Sakura protested. "I think he's just… shy or something."

The rummaging for food stopped as everyone stared at Sakura incredulously. "Well," she said nervously. "Yuu's not any better!"

Ayame cracked her knuckles cheerfully, a pleasant smile on her face. "We'll break him of it."

"Rapidly," Daisuke agreed, matching her smile.

"…I'm a little disturbed," Ino said, eyeing the two of them, and Daisuke flushed slightly.

"Before we talk about breaking in team-mates," Shikamaru said impatiently, "There's another exam."

Everyone looked at him expectantly, and he shrugged under their combined gazes. "Tch, troublesome," he grumbled, but continued. "There's a difference between team genin and the reserve corps – if we fail a test our jounin-sensei gives us, we put into the reserve corps, which pretty much fucks up our chances for promotion, according to Tenten."

Naruto and Ino wolf-whistled obligingly, just to see Shikamaru turn crimson. He tugged on his earring to distract himself. "Yes, thank you," he said curtly. "Anyway – it's always teams of three, you never get switched around after academy assignment until your first chuunin exam, and the test varies from jounin to jounin. Apparently most of them are about teamwork though, because squad genin are being trained up as leaders."

Naruto nodded. "I've heard most of this before," he confirmed. "I also recognise a couple of the jounin names, but the information I have," he waved his hand from side to side. "Not really the most reliable."

"Anything is better than nothing though, right?" Sakura said, using her chopsticks to separate out a ball of rice. There were a variety of nods around the group, and Naruto shrugged.

"Right, well. Hatake Kakashi is the most basic – he's known as the copy-ninja, has a sharingan eye, reads an obscene amount of porn and is late to pretty much everything. He's very, very good though – pretty much legendary level, which might explain why he was given the perfect prodigy Uchiha."

Daisuke snickered, and then subsided at the glare Sakura shot him.

"Uh, Sarutobi Asuma is, as you might have guessed, the Hokage's son. Spent some time as one of the Daimyo's guards I think, and is pretty good with wind jutsus. He also once ended up naked and upside down in the ANBU locker rooms. I _think_ there are still photos around the village if you need blackmail."

"Oh great," Ino said. "Our sensei's a massive embarrassment."

Naruto shot her a grin, and then carefully tilted his head to the left. "He's a good guy," he said. "Surprisin' amount going on behind the eyes."

Ino nodded slowly, and Naruto twisted to face Ayame, who was looking very intense.

"Shiranui Genma," Naruto drawled out teasingly. "Best known for his ambition to sleep with someone from every clan in Konoha. He's 'parently about seventy five per cent of his way through."

Ayame buried her head in her hands and groaned. "_Great_."

"Specialises in poisons and assassinations, tends to work fairly closely with Intel. He also thinks he's really funny." Naruto shrugged. "Also a fairly nice guy from what I've seen, but hung-over, like, all of the time."

Daisuke nodded thoughtfully. "I think I get my hands on some flash-bang tags," he said. "Shizuka still sells them, right?"

"Still at a discount for Kenshin's kids," Ino said with a grin. "Otherwise I'd be _broke_."

"Which reminds me," Naruto said clicking his fingers, "You think Neji-"

"With the-"

"And we could-"

"_Oh _yes," Ino said gleefully. "I'm sure we can corner him sometime soon."

"And for those of us that need to speak in whole sentence…?" Shikamaru asked, and Ino smiled sweetly.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, oh team-mate of mine. We just haven't talked to him in _ages_."

"He might get grumpy without us," Naruto said, nodding seriously, and Sakura raised a hand to muffle her laugh.

Shikamaru sighed in despair, and returned to eating.

* * *

"You know, when you said our sensei was normally late, I didn't think you meant _three hours _late," Sakura said, pacing across the room. Naruto was lying on the desks, staring at the ceiling in mind-numbing boredom.

"You probably didn't think I meant he read porn in public, either, but he does," Naruto said and Sakura turned to stare at him.

"_Seriously_?" she yelped, and Naruto nodded.

"S'one of the reasons Dad doesn't like him too much."

Sasuke finally interjected from where he'd been intently regarding his fingertips. "Your father is Hideyoshi Kenshin, correct?"

"Yep," Naruto said, his fingers twitching slightly with a desire to move.

"I… heard a rumour," Sasuke began awkwardly, "That he's an Uchiha, if born… slightly unorthodoxly."

"Y'mean, you want to know if he's a bastard Uchiha?" Naruto asked to clarify, and Sasuke looked a little indignant, even as he nodded.

Naruto shrugged. "Don't know. Never spoken about it. 'Sides, it's none of your business one way or another."

"If he's an Uchiha, the clan-" Sasuke began, and Naruto snorted.

"He doesn't like your clan," he said flatly. "_I_ don't much like your clan, 'cept for Shisui." His hands were clenched into tight fists, before he forcibly relaxed them, trying hard _not to remember_.

"Naruto, it's not fair to judge an entire clan," Sakura inserted worriedly. "I'm sure Kenshin-sensei doesn't really dislike them."

Sasuke turned towards her, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Kenshin-sensei?"

"Ah, yes," Sakura said, tugging on a pink lock of hair nervously. "Kenshin-sensei took on a group of younger students when he had just arrived officially in Konoha. I was – am still – one of them."

Sasuke blinked, and looked at Sakura more carefully. "I… see," he said, clearly very curious, but not sure that manners would allow him to enquire too closely, and very determined to stick to them now that he was an adult. He turned back to Naruto after a moment's pause. "He's the one who wrote a book on chakra sensitivity?"

"He's written several books," Naruto yawned, managing to appear mostly unaffected.

"Something he said in one of them – I didn't quite understand it. Would it be possible-?" Sasuke said. If he _talked_ to this Hideyoshi Kenshin, then surely he'd know whether he was clan or not. He was sure no one could really dislike the Uchiha, not if they were related – not if they could have the chance for family.

Naruto sat up to meet Sasuke's eyes, looking slightly bewildered that an Uchiha would actually ask for assistance. "This weekend," he said decisively, after a moment of inspecting him, and understanding creeping into his eyes. He sounded a bit amused, and Sasuke hunched his shoulders defensively, not liking the tone of voice. It was almost like Naruto knew what he was thinking, and found it funny.

Sasuke blinked, and Naruto clarified. "Come over this weekend, 'bout ten, and you can ask him your questions. I'll give you my address later."

Their conversation was interrupted by the door sliding in, and a mass of grey hair sticking in to the room. "Team Seven?" he asked cheerfully, and Sakura looked like she was about to throw a kunai at him.

"Yes," Sasuke said curtly, his voice displaying the faint contempt of one regarding a lower life-form. Naruto managed – barely – not to snicker as Hatake Kakashi blinked his one visible eye slowly.

"Well, that's a cheerful greeting," he said, sounding entertained.

"You _are_ three hours, forty three minutes late, sensei," Sakura said, almost apologetically.

"Am I really?" Kakashi said, sounding shocked. "Well, you see, there was this black cat and I couldn't walk past that, so I had to take a detour past an old woman's house, where I was intercepted by a green beast who challenged me to a most fearsome task, and that must have made me late. It's appalling of me, I know."

Sakura's hands clenched, preventing her from reaching for a weapon. Just one stab, right in the middle of his smug face…

"Right," Kakashi said, clapping his hands together. "Up to the roof, children, chop chop." He moved his hands into a fast set of seals, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Really?" Sakura asked in despair, looking at her two team-mates, and Naruto shrugged.

* * *

"So, kiddies, let's all introduce ourselves," Kakashi said, clapping his hands together and squinting his eyes into a broad smile. Sakura inched away from him, looking slightly disturbed.

"Let's see," Kakashi said, speaking slowly as if musing aloud. "Names, little description of yourselves and maybe your family, your likes, your hobbies, your dreams, that kind of thing." He waved a hand nonchalantly. "How about you go first, blondie?"

Naruto twitched slightly, but managed to keep himself acting almost professional. "Hideyoshi Naruto, I'm the adopted son of Hideyoshi Kenshin, who's a retired shinobi. I like ramen, gardening running. I also like hangin' out with my cousin, Yamanaka Ino, and prankin' people. My dream is to win a lifetime supply of ramen, which I will use to fill a swimming pool and have a massive ramen party with lots of attractive women."

Sakura promptly thumped him.

"Ow! Sakura-" Naruto protested, and she raised her fist threateningly.

"Do you have to make a mockery of _everything_, Naruto?" she demanded, furiously, and Naruto widened his eyes, his lower lip quivering.

"I don't criticise _your _dream, Sakura," he said. "You're just some- some hope-destroyer! I bet you don't even _like _ramen!"

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, and Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Moving on," he said mildly. "Uchiha."

Sasuke, who had been looking faintly taken-aback by the open display of immaturity by his team-mates, straightened perceptibly. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said crisply. "Clan heir of the Uchiha clan, son of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. I like training and reading up on recent developments in chakra usage. I will see my clan's honour restored, in any way necessary."

Sakura looked deeply approving of Sasuke's brief speech, elbowing Naruto as if to tell him to pay attention. Naruto slouched further, making a face.

"I see," Kakashi said. "And finally…?"

"Haruno Sakura," Sakura said, smiling prettily at her jounin-sensei, seemingly having forgotten the urge to stab him in the face that had struck her earlier. "I'm civilian-born, my father is a silk trader and my mother is a house-wife. I like reading, training with my friends and playing Shougi with Shikamaru. My dream is to develop medical seals, as well as being a capable combat shinobi."

"Good, good," Kakashi said. "Now, I have some-"

"Wait a second, sensei," Naruto interrupted, and Kakashi cocked his head to one side in enquiry. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"My," Kakashi said dryly. "How rude of me. I must have forgotten. Hatake Kakashi, Konoha jounin, I like _many_ things, but none for little ears, and my dream… well…" he giggled.

They all stared at him, but Kakashi didn't seem to notice, still giggling slightly. Suddenly he cut himself off, serious again. "As I was saying, I have some unfortunate news for you – you aren't genin yet."

None of his genin blinked, surprising Kakashi somewhat. He'd been expecting the civilian kiddie to be taken aback at the very least, but he ploughed on, dismissing it for later thought. "Before you get to be genin, you have to pass _my _test," he said ominously. "_No one_ has ever managed it – believe me, at the very least, two-thirds of you will not be keeping your forehead-protector."

Sakura shivered slightly, raising her hand to where her protector was tied tightly around her head. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in a glare at Kakashi, and Naruto's left hand was twitching spasmodically.

Kakashi resisted the temptation to beam in satisfaction. _That_ was far more appropriate. "Tomorrow." He said sharply. "Six am. Training ground three."

"Soo…" Naruto said slowly, resisting the temptation to grin. "That means about ten, right?"

Kakashi glowered at him, but continued as if there had been no interruption. "I'd advise you don't eat if you don't want to throw up. Dismissed!"

Naruto turned to look at Sakura, flicking three fingers up and Sakura nodded, latching on to Sasuke's arm. "We'll meet you there!" she said cheerfully, pulling Sasuke along with her to Naruto's laughter.

* * *

'There' turned out to be an abandoned playground off Sector 19 – one of the sectors that had been destroyed in the Kyuubi attack and was even now a mostly ruined mess. The years had turned it into a massive warren of collapsed apartments and walls, and rendered it one of the most popular spots for shinobi games, even if Sasuke had never been there before.

Sakura had promptly taken over one of the swings, and cheerfully explained that 'they' – meaning Kenshin's students – often met in various spots about Sector 19. Her chatter had eventually run down however, and Sasuke was on the edge of excusing himself, regardless of rudeness, when Naruto finally showed up, dragging a reluctant-looking older genin behind him. Sakura looked confused as Sasuke felt, which he was fairly thankful for.

Naruto slanted his eyes towards the emotions that were flickering quickly over Sasuke's face, and managed not to grin. To someone who'd grown up with Kenshin, reading other people's emotions wasn't a massive challenge – and that was even without the advantages he had.

"Kinjo Shirou, Uchiha Sasuke," he introduced briefly. "I think you've already met Sakura."

Shirou nodded briefly, sharp brown eyes darting across the three children and drawing his own conclusions. "You're the unlucky bastards who pulled Hatake-san, then?" he said, and Sakura's eyes widened in comprehension.

"You were assigned to his team before?" she asked, and Shirou nodded with a rueful smile.

"We failed so badly it was humiliating," he said, in a nostalgic voice. "Believe me, that guy's a dick."

Sasuke looked towards Naruto, who shrugged. "My dad always says it's important to get as much intel as possible, and I remembered Shirou-sempai."

"Just remember, you owe me dinner," Shirou said in mock-warning. "And if it's home-cooked, Hideyoshi-san isn't allowed near it."

"Dad blew up the kitchen a few times," Naruto explained, and Sakura winced in remembrance.

"He tried to make a cake for us once," she revealed. "At least, I _think_ it was meant to be a cake."

"Even the Inuzuka dogs won't touch his cooking," Naruto said. "Believe me, I've tried."

"…I see," Sasuke said, not revealing his impatience. "What information did you have, Kinjo-san?"

"Hatake Kakashi," Shirou drawled out, placing extra emphasis on each word. "_Legendary_ jounin. Ex-ANBU. Massive, massive dick." He paused. "And I meant that in a way that he is a dick, not that he has one."

Sasuke blinked, and Naruto snickered.

"I'm fairly sure he reuses the same test every year," Shirou said. "He's seriously lazy that way. He calls it the Bell Test."

* * *

"You," Kakashi said, his one visible eye narrowed in displeasure, "Are _late_."

Naruto blinked in some bewilderment, slanting a look in Sakura's direction. "Two minutes," she mouthed, holding her watch up.

"Uh, sorry sensei," he offered insincerely. "I totally would have been on time, but I was ambushed by a crazed panda."

There was a pause, where no one quite knew what to say. Kakashi managed to keep a foreboding glower on his face through sheer effort of will – and for the enjoyment of making his genin squirm. "A traumatic incident, I'm sure," he said, relaxing suddenly. "Now, for your test."

He held up two bells, watching with interest as Sakura's smile became a little smug, and Sasuke folded his arms confidently. Naruto, on the other hand, was starting to look a little wary. He waited for a few seconds, glorying in what he was about to do. "Congratulations on your information gathering," he said pleasantly. "Unfortunately, that meant I did have to make it a little harder for you all."

Sakura's smile slid right off her face.

"I have attached a bell that looks extremely similar to these to three different jounin," Kakashi said cheerfully. "You must gather all three bells by midday today, or you will all fail." He watched with some interest as Naruto's hands flickered into a set of hand seals he hadn't seen before – some kind of specialised jutsu? He'd have to pull out his sharingan on it at a later date.

"I haven't said start, Naruto," he said, and Naruto raised one hand to the back of his head awkwardly.

"Sorry sensei," he said sheepishly. "Got ahead of myself." He met Kakashi's eye without hesitation however, and didn't look that slightest bit guilty. "So, uh, you going to tell us who the jounin are?"

Kakashi bit back a smirk. "Nice try," he said. "Since you're so keen on information gathering, however, I'd hate to ruin your fun."

Chances were, he'd pass them anyway. He'd never met a team that had clued onto the thought of teamwork so fast. If they could actually get the bells off the jounin he'd chosen though… well, when he had a team with that kind of potential, it wasn't worth goofing about with them. Gai had been all too keen to help out with the test, shouting eagerly about the flames of youth. Anko had thought the whole thing was hilarious, and as for the last bell – well, it would be fun to see whether they could measure up to him in anyway, after all.

Naruto's face had stretched into a cocky smile while he waited and Kakashi eyed him curiously. There was something _odd_ about that kid, and it wasn't just how much he looked like Yondaime when he was supposedly Yamanaka spawn. He shook the thought off for later investigation, and instead made a show of checking his watch.

"It's currently twenty past six. You have five hours and forty minutes to prove you're worthy of being my minions." He clasped his hands together and beamed. "Begone!"

* * *

"Sasuke, anyone around?" Naruto asked, looking thoughtful. They'd scattered to the other end of the training field to think things through after Kakashi-sensei had supposedly 'disappeared'. It was likely he was hiding somewhere though, watching them.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sent his chakra out in a weak pulse, 'listening' for other chakra presences. "No one nearby I can sense," he said stiffly. "Now, the first thing we need to do is find out who these jounin are – they'll likely be people Kakashi-_sensei,_" he couldn't stop a little bit of disdain from leaking out on the last word, "trusts, so-"

"Woah, hold up," Naruto said, grinning. "I can tell you who the jounin are."

Two pairs of eyes fixed on him intently. "One is a jounin named Maito Gai," he said. "The second is Mitarashi Anko – Sakura, why are you counting your money?"

"Just checking how much I had on me," she said lightly. "We can probably bribe Mitarashi-san with a few boxes of dango."

Sasuke stared at her. "Really?" he asked incredulously. "What kind of jounin-?" He paused and then shook his head. "I don't think I want to know."

Naruto snickered. "Anyway, the last one is Kakashi-sensei – and it's probably worth dealing with him last."

"Naruto," Sakura said hesitantly. "How did you find this out?"

Naruto grinned cheerfully, bearing sharp canines. "I have my sources, Sakura!"

"Hn," Sasuke said, trying to regain control of the group. "Well, we should-"

"Mitarashi-san first," Sakura said firmly. "She'll probably be the easiest, and she tends to spend Thursday mornings from seven thirty at the tea shop in Sector Two. Maito-san should be second – he's Tenten's jounin-sensei, isn't he?"

"He is," Naruto confirmed thoughtfully. "I think they had a D-class babysitting some kid's birthday party today in Sector Two's park. Neji was bitching about it last night. I _think_ I should be able to deal with Gai, but I'll need to pick up some supplies."

"You can get what you need while Sasuke and I are dealing with Anko then," Sakura said, biting her lip. "Kakashi-sensei-"

"He'll be difficult," Naruto acknowledged.

"We'll deal with him last then," Sasuke said authoritatively. "Let's move out!"

Naruto eyed him for a second, then shook his head, grinning to himself. "Yeah, okay. I'll meet you outside of the tea-shop when I've got everything I need."

The three genin moved quickly, leaving Kakashi sitting in his tree, frowning thoughtfully. "How _did_ you know who the jounin were, Naruto?" he muttered to himself. "Interesting."

* * *

"So, you brats are here to steal Kakashi's bell off me?" Anko said, sprawling back loosely in her seat, and not missing how Sasuke pointedly averted his gaze from her chest. Her grin was almost feral, but it didn't seem to put Sakura off much.

"Actually, Mitarashi-san," she said carefully, "I was hoping we could come to a more… equitable arrangement."

Anko's grin widened. "_Were_ you now," she purred. "How… interesting."

* * *

Naruto shifted from foot to foot impatiently as he waited outside for his team-mates to emerge, carefully balancing the paint cans he'd bought.

Sasuke was the first out of the door, his face carefully drawn into a mixture of disapproval and pride at the retrieval of the first bell. Sakura bounced out next, shouting a cheerful farewell to "Mitarashi-san".

"Oi!" Naruto shouted, directing them his way.

Sasuke was none-too-impressed with how this test was going so far. Being able to bribe a Konoha jounin was a disgrace, and he suspected he wasn't going to like Naruto's plan for this Maito Gai any more – it all seemed to reflect how inefficient Konoha was. If there were an _Uchiha_ Hokage, none of this would be permitted.

"…Paint," he said, as he approached Naruto.

"I can see you passed Observation 101," Naruto said cheerfully. "Now the question is, are _you _thinkin' what _I'm_ thinkin'?"

Sakura's forehead furrowed as she went over what she knew of the next bell. Her eyes widened in comprehension. "Birthday party," she said with a widening smile, looking over to Sasuke excitedly, and Naruto confirmed it with a wicked grin.

"_Hostages_."

Sasuke closed his eyes in horror.

"I have balloons as well, so they're really easy to use," Naruto explained, looking like he would be windmilling his arms if he wasn't burdened by six cans of paint. "Believe me, there's _no way_ Gai'll let his team have a failed D-rank on their record."

Sasuke sighed. "Just give me a can of paint," he said, in a resigned voice, and Sakura giggled.

* * *

"This is a raid!" Naruto shouted, as they burst into the middle of the birthday party, holding balloons filled with paint. Sasuke looked utterly humiliated, whereas Sakura just looked determined.

"…Naruto?" Neji said, his voice implying 'what-the-hell' with perfect adequacy.

"Hey Neji!" Naruto said cheerfully, waving with a balloon, before resuming a serious pose. "Maito Gai, you are to surrender the bell _immediately_ or we will be using our weapons!"

"This is Most Unyouthful!" Gai said, sounding horrified. Sasuke looked just as horrified at the sight of what the jounin was wearing.

"Yeah, you know what else would be unyouthful?" Naruto said, with a wide, wicked grin. "Havin' a failed _D-Class_ on your record because you let the birthday brats get pelted by paint."

"Naruto," Tenten growled, reaching for her senbon.

"Ah-ah-ah, Tenten," Naruto said, still with his grin pasted on. "You don't want to be throwin' those things around _civilians_, do you? And if you do, our hands might just… slip."

"You are _dead_, Hideyoshi," Tenten snarled.

"You would not Permanently Blemish the records of your Youthful Friends with such Low Tactics!" Gai cried, and Naruto barely hesitated.

"Sure I would. One blemish versus us never getting' to be ninja? I think I can live with the guilt."

Gai sighed in defeat, looking at the ground – and then _moved_.

Sakura and Naruto just hit the ground in time, cushioning their paint balloons with difficulty – one burst over Naruto's jacket, spraying lime green paint across the orange. Gai swivelled, kicking out, and Sakura's paint balloons flew from her arms to land harmlessly on some trees. Naruto raised his one balloon left, ready to throw, but a flick from Gai's fist sent it into a bush.

"That's enough," Sasuke said from behind them. He had a squirming child held in front of him with one hand, and a balloon in the other, determination written all over his face. "Pass the bell to Naruto _now_, or the birthday boy gets it."

Gai gasped, falling to his knees. "I have Failed!" he wailed to the skies. "You would not do such a Heinous thing to such an Innocent Child, would you?"

Sasuke shrugged, unmoved. "_They _might not. I would. Bell. Naruto. Now."

Gai reached slowly towards the bell, as if it were paining him to even contemplate the action. He shuddered as he tossed it to the ground in front of Naruto, who scrambled to pick it up quickly.

"Naruto, Sakura – go!" Sasuke snapped, and Naruto threw a mocking salute in his direction as they retreated with the bells. When Sasuke judged they had gone far enough he released the child and offered a nod to Gai, his face solemn.

"You are Perfectly Suited to my Rival," Gai spat, his face dark with bitter emotion. "We _will_ meet again."

Neji rolled his eyes.

* * *

"Okay," Sakura said when they regrouped on the roof of a nearby grocery shop. "We've got two bells – we just need Kakashi-sensei's and we're home free." She looked at her two team-mates, her face serious. "Naruto?"

"I have no idea where he is," he admitted without shame. "I _think_ he's been followin' us around, but that's just common sense."

Sasuke looked around, his face drawn into one of concentration. "I can't sense him," he said after a moment, and Naruto snorted.

"He's a _jounin_, genius."

"Naruto," Sakura warned, and he sighed.

"Whatever. Maybe if we go back to Training Ground Three we'll get lucky," Naruto suggested, and Sasuke frowned.

"How will we retrieve the bell if we find him though?" he said, and there was a long pause.

"I have some explosive tags," Naruto said, turning out his pockets. "Couple of kunai, ninja wire and… is that Kakashi-sensei over there?"

They turned to look at where a silver-haired figure was waving cheerfully at them, and then looked at each other. "It's-" Naruto began, trailing off as Sasuke leapt off the roof in chase.

"-A trap?" Sakura finished. They shrugged at each other, and followed the Uchiha, bounding from roof to roof at high speeds. Sasuke seemed to be gaining on Kakashi, putting on a burst of speed that was truly impressive – Sakura and Naruto, on the other hand, were lagging behind slightly, unable to keep up.

"He's leadin' us into sector nineteen," Naruto huffed in between jumps. "Just goin' the long way."

Sakura glanced over at him, and immediately diverted herself off the roof into a nearby alley. "Come on then!" she shouted breathlessly. "We might still beat him there!" Her face was red with exertion, but she still set off at a rapid pace, darting past civilians with no problem.

Naruto glanced back to where he imagined Sasuke was still chasing Kakashi, and followed her quickly. "We're goin' to need to co-ordinate," he called to Sakura, and she nodded without pausing.

"I know, I know, I'm thinking," she said, powering chakra into her legs and jumping over a wall at the end of the alleyway. "Sasuke can handle close up, just about, so we need to try and keep our sensei off-guard. Last week, your dad-"

"Oh, _duh,_" Naruto said, resisting the temptation to slap himself as he took to the roofs again. "Yeah, the obstacle course should still be active if we can back Kakashi-sensei into it."

"Good," Sakura said fiercely. "Sector nineteen is _ours_."

They cut across one of the more broken-looking apartment towers that took them straight into sector nineteen, landing carefully on the blue spots which Kenshin had set up before as a training exercise, and came out just to the side of where Kakashi was leading Sasuke on a merry chase, all but skipping. Sakura drew a set of shuriken out of her pocket determinedly, and Naruto reached for an explosive tag.

_What the-_ Kakashi thought, as he caught sight of the other two genin. _There is no way that they were faster than us. They must have worked out where we were going and taken a shortcut – but how?_

He was forced to abandon his thoughts as a barrage of shuriken came at him – _weak throws_, he analysed briefly. _On target, which is impressive for an academy student, but no real power behind them. Probably not a weapon-user. _He flipped into the air to land on the next building as he spotted the explosive tag attached to a kunai, and winced as Sasuke barely avoided the explosion. _Nearly took out their own team-mate. Bad form._

Sasuke closed the distance between them, a kunai held in one hand and a look of determination on his face. _Fast for a genin_, Kakashi thought, catching Sasuke's arm in one hand and twisting him round. Sasuke swung his leg, snarling as that, too, was caught and rolled as Kakashi threw him away.

"Nearly there," Sakura hissed, throwing another barrage of shuriken at their sensei. Naruto made a face, aiming another explosive tag at the building in front of Kakashi. Kakashi swerved, jumping down into the rubble strewn street. Sasuke jumped after him.

"No-" Naruto half-called, and then slumped. He attached a third explosive note to his kunai, and looked mournfully down at where Kakashi was fighting Sasuke. He looked up at Sakura. "I can't trigger the override trap while Sasuke's down there," he said, annoyed. "He'll get _slaughtered_."

Sakura joined him in looking down. "Follow the leader, I guess," she said ruefully, and leapt down to join Sasuke.

Sasuke was moving as fast as he could, but the damn jounin was always faster. He skipped a step back, hands flickering into seals to blow a fireball, but his hand were batted aside and a palm-thrust took away his breath. Naruto was in front of him before Kakashi could follow it up, slashing down with a kunai- he was thrown aside into a wall, barely managing to twist his legs up to hit first-

Sasuke was up on his feet, closer – he brought his leg around in a swing but Sakura was there, scrabbling for the bell attached to Kakashi's waist – Sasuke snarled, why was she _in his way_-

He flicked a kunai out, aiming for his sensei's throat – Kakashi had twisted out of his way, anticipating one of Naruto's blows- Naruto went flying again, slamming straight into the wall and not moving-

Sakura's hands were moving in a jutsu, but Sasuke knocked into her as he lunged again- he was knocked aside, Sakura went down in a – genjutsu? – then Kakashi was moving again and Sasuke went down, a foot on his throat.

"Well," Kakashi said mildly, removing his foot. "That was disappointing."

"Ow," Naruto moaned.

"Theoretically, three genin should be able to defeat a jounin," Kakashi said, watching his genin begin to struggle up impassively.

"Fuck theoretically," Naruto groaned, flopping back down on the ground after an ineffective attempt at pushing himself up. "Ow, my spleen."

"Your willingness to resort to alternate tactics is good," Kakashi said. "Your information gathering is close to _brilliant_ – I would like to know how you found out so much of what I was doing, Naruto, but that can wait. Your team-work was also acceptable on the whole." He paused and looked at them all. "However, you were unable to mesh your attacks appropriately, you leapt into combat far too speedily, not knowing if it was a trap or not _and_-" he paused again, significantly. "I took the battle into an area you were familiar with, where you should have had a ridiculous home-advantage – and you were still unable to touch me. Your combat is _appalling; _you spent the majority of time getting in each other's way."

Kakashi twisted his head to look at Naruto. "I presume you were trying to back me into the seal array?" he asked Naruto, who nodded grumpily.

"We _did _back you into the seal array," he said. "We just couldn't set it off."

Kakashi turned back to Sasuke. "_Co-ordinate_." He said, emphasising the word clearly. "I am going to run you into the ground until you learn to fight together."

"Does that mean we pass?" Sakura piped up from where she was propped up against a wall, still looking disorientated from the genjutsu she'd been hit by.

Kakashi let his eye smile at them all. "Just," he said pleasantly. "And believe me, you're going to regret it soon."

"Oh," Sakura said, weakly. "Good."


	8. Part 2, 2 of ?

**AN: **Following the tradition of hobbits, consider this an early birthday present from me to you. :D Or a late Christmas present. Whichever. Edited to add my mysteriously disappearing line breaks.

**Two Steps Back**

**2.2**

"Let me get this straight," Kakashi said, looking contemplative in the morning sun. He'd turned up (nearly) on time today, to this visible surprise of his blond brat, and had taken a few minutes to quiz his students on their skills. "Despite it decidedly _not_ being part of the academy curriculum, you all know tree-walking and water-walking." There went his plans for a peaceful day of Icha Icha.

"We can also do water-sliding," Sakura volunteered, and Sasuke frowned at her in faint bewilderment. "You know," she gestured vaguely with her hands, "When you go at run, reduce the friction and-" she gestured again, making a slight 'whoosh'ing sound. "Kenshin-sensei used to let us play tag on the river."

"It's _awesome_," Naruto said definitely, nodding his head vigorously. "You know the little waterfall, off 37? Get some speed up on top of the river and you can do _wicked_ stunts off that. Tenten sometimes uses it for accuracy testin' and-" he whistled, long and low. "Impressive as anything."

"O-kay," Kakashi said, his one visible eyebrow raised. "We'll try that out another time. Right now we're talking about training though." In all honesty, he was getting a little fed-up of hearing about the ever-fantastic Kenshin-sensei, and what he'd taught his little elite group of students. There was some amusement to be taken in the slight jealousy the Uchiha heir was showing though – although he'd had some of the best tutors his clan could spare, they were not, apparently, as inventive as a group of nine pre-genin and a blind man.

"I've taken a look at your academy reports," he said – and hadn't that been a quest and a half getting hold of them; it was like they were trying to hide something about his team. "Given that, I'd like to know what you think is most important for you to learn right now and why." He'd also like to know why Naruto had had more absences than the rest of his class put together, but he'd corner the kid about that later.

He met Naruto's eyes briefly, amused by the faintly suspicious look being directed his way. "Why don't you start?" he said cheerfully, watching as the suspicious look deepened.

"Taijutsu," Naruto said finally, reluctantly. "Or something close range. It's important 'cause our team is kinda unbalanced right now and I guess I'm the best choice to fill the gap." He didn't sound particularly happy about it. He paused. "Taijutsu and speed training," he amended after a moment. "Taijutsu has to change as you grow, but dad says speed stays with you whatever puberty does." He sounded like he was quoting, his voice slipping into an almost sing-song pattern.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at Sakura, who'd been nodding her head along with Naruto's recital. "Speed training would be helpful," she said thoughtfully. "If I got fast enough, I could use chakra scalpels in a fight, which would be helpful. I also need to build up chakra reserves as well."

Sasuke looked even unhappier at the recital than Naruto had – he'd been wanting to jump straight in to more advanced ninjutsu, but with two of his team-mates coming down on the side of basic training, he was fairly certain he'd look immature if he requested it. It was no real problem, he told himself. When his sharingan activated, he'd have plenty of time to learn ninjutsu – and as his teammates pointed out, speed was always beneficial in a fight. "Speed," he agreed with a nod, and then paused as a thought hit him. "Hand seal speed too. I'm primarily a ninjutsu type, with some interest in genjutsu – having faster seal speed would be useful."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully, a little disappointed at having received fairly sensible answers. How was he supposed to throw them in the deep end if they didn't start ranting about awesome jutsus that they totally had to learn? It was a little mean of them, he felt. Clearly, he'd have to return the favour.

"Right then," he said clapping his hands, having made up his mind. "We'll do three hours training and then we'll go get our first mission." A flicker of excitement twitched through the genin, and Kakashi repressed a thoroughly nasty grin. If they were very lucky, Tora would have made a bid for freedom by that time.

"So, my beloved spawn, my most cherished minions… have you ever heard of shinobi suicides?"

"Uh," Naruto said hesitantly. "Are they anything like suicide runs?"

Kakashi curved his eye into a smile, pulling out a kunai. "Similar," he said cheerfully. "Very, very similar."

* * *

"Daimyo-sama," Shizui acknowledged from where he was crouched by the sakura tree, his face hidden behind one of the more generic ANBU masks, just about recognisable as a cat. The remnants of a chakra-sensing jutsu still sparked from his fingers, courtesy of Kenshin's near encyclopaedic knowledge of everything jutsu related.

"Well?" the Daimyo demanded, trying to sound authoritative in the mild midday sun. He had inherited most of his features from his mother, turning out pale and soft and weak in a way that made most shinobi twitch in disapproval. His fingers were thick and chunky, twisting with nerves – but, Shisui thought, he was still young as civilians reckoned things. Not yet twenty, when most of the daimyo were over twice his age. Given time, he might yet become a passable leader.

"We are able to confirm the presence of the missing-nin Uchiha Itachi," Shisui reported, not letting his thoughts show.

The Daimyo's face twisted. "That's _it?_" he snapped. "Any one of my men could have confirmed that! The corpse he left behind _confirms_ his presence. It took you seven hours to discover what anyone with eyes could have-" He trailed off, incoherent with rage.

"Apologies, Daimyo-sama," Shisui said, mildly. "There was suspicion that another could have been exploiting his presence. It was necessary to check."

The Daimyo spluttered. "What are you going to _do_?" he finally demanded. "And why is it taking so long to drag down a single ninja?"

Shisui's squadron exchanged glances, unwilling to confess the truth – that they had no idea where to start hunting Itachi, let alone how to bring him down. "Squadrons are combing the surrounding area as we speak, Daimyo-sama," Shisui began diplomatically, but the Daimyo was having none of it, starting a rant that they had heard all-too often since they had been summoned.

"Combing the area? What _use _is that? This is a game to him," the Daimyo said, his face slowly turning red. For a second, Shisui compared the shade to the reddening autumn leaves, trying to ignore the increasingly-grating voice. "He _taunts_ us, bypassing the best of our security to kill a servant and leave her body in my bed. Every few months, he picks someone else to kill, someone else to show that we cannot stop him."

"Daimyo-sama," Shisui began, only to be overridden as the Daimyo continued.

"My father is dead to this madman. My mother is dead. My older sister, her husband. The head of my security, my _librarian_. Anyone he chooses dies, and he _laughs _at us."

Only strict training kept the ANBU squadron of five from shifting uncomfortably. Shisui opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again.

"I want him _dead_!" The Daimyo roared, spittle flying from his mouth. "This _Uchiha_ is a disgrace. He makes a mockery of our security, and his clan does _nothing_ to stop him."

"Daimyo-sama," Shisui said, thanking whoever came up with the voice manipulators on ANBU masks that kept him sounding impassive. "I understand the Uchiha have a number of their clan members constantly hunting for the traitor, and they have offered a fairly significant bounty to have his head retrieved."

"Then perhaps they are simply incompetent," the Daimyo said, his voice icy. "In which case, we may want to think carefully about the trade monopolies they have been granted. It does not seem that they are acting in a manner worthy of the wealth afforded them."

Shisui grimaced beneath his mask. "As you will, Daimyo-sama," he said carefully. "If we may speak to someone regarding the positioning of your guards…?" he trailed off expectantly, as the Daimyo drew in deliberate breaths through his nose.

"Okinawa Katsuo has taken over security since his father's death," the mousy little secretary piped up, her body almost hidden behind the Daimyo's bulk. She flinched a little as the Daimyo sent a half-hearted glare her way, composing herself by rifling through a small pad of paper she had brought with her.

"If you have nothing of importance to report, you may leave us," the Daimyo said curtly, turning to leave himself. "If Konoha wishes to maintain its favourable position in our lands, it would do well to deal with this traitor thoroughly. Five years has passed since he showed his true self, and our patience wears thin."

Shisui bowed his head reluctantly, not looking forward to reporting this message to the Hokage – or, for that matter, to the clan.

"Well, _shit_," C7 muttered softly as the Daimyo's small entourage left the garden, all of them carefully avoiding looking at the naked corpse of the older man hanging motionless from a sakura tree. Shisui sighed through his nose, agreeing with his subordinate.

"Take the body down," he commanded monotonously as he stood. "We'll get nothing more from where it hangs."

"D14?" C5 questioned, wanted to know which medic-nin he should deliver the body to. Shisui hesitated then nodded.

"Dog, Rat, with me. Let's go sort out a protection detail for our beloved Daimyo-sama," he said wearily. The dog-masked C12 and the rat-masked C7 stood silently; padding across the dry grass after him as behind them the rest of the squadron took care of the body.

* * *

"Someday I'm going to take great pleasure in telling my children that my first ever mission as areal ninja was weeding," Naruto said lazily, sounding more entertained than anything else as they sat down, eating a late lunch in a training ground near to their first mission. He'd been quite grateful at getting a nice, relaxing D-class following Kakashi's training, 'cause his muscles? Jelly. It was _not_ going to be fun getting up tomorrow morning. He was more fortunate than his team-mates, however, having managed to knit up his own injuries without trouble following a careful application of red chakra. Sakura had had a good attempt at healing herself and Sasuke, but there were still the remains of deep scratches and strained muscles that wouldn't be going away.

Sasuke grunted slightly, looking mostly resigned to the humiliation of low-level chores as he poked at a rice ball with his chopsticks. He'd clearly been warned about them ahead of time, and was looking to keep what dignity he could. Sakura just groaned, stretching out the kinks in her back.

"Or maybe," Naruto said, thinking it over carefully. "Maybe I'll wind 'em up, telling them they'll be rescuing princesses and fighting dragons or something, and then turn up to take photos when their jounin-sensei tells 'em that actually, today's fantastic, utterly awesome mission is to weed the old hag's garden. It'll be hilarious."

"You're already planning children?" Sakura asked, looking faintly bemused, and Naruto shrugged.

"Bloodline propagation act," he told her cheerfully. "If I don't have kids before I'm, like, eighteen, they're using artificial insemi- something to make sure my line continues."

Sakura choked on her mouthful, and both Sasuke and Kakashi fixed startled eyes on him. "Seriously?" Sakura demanded, when she'd regained her breath, and Naruto nodded.

"_Totally_ serious," he said, sounding utterly unbothered. "S'cool though, I still get parental rights over any of the kids and I have official permission to kick the asses of anyone who misuses my DNA. It's like being an official clan of one!" He beamed at them all, and Kakashi tried to regain his spinning thoughts.

"I hadn't heard the Yamanaka had an actual kekkei genkai," he said carefully, and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"They don't. That'd be why I'm a clan of one, Kakashi-sensei," he said, in the tones of one stating the absolute obvious. "It's a new thing."

"What does it do?" Sasuke demanded, sounding faintly outraged that he hadn't heard of it before.

Naruto shrugged. "Can't say. Classified." He smiled sunnily. "It's totally more awesome than your bloodline limit though."

Sasuke sputtered slightly, and Sakura looked like she wanted to thump Naruto for his insults, but wasn't entirely sure whether that would be appropriate. Kakashi checked around for any eavesdroppers, sending out a fast skim of chakra around him.

"Naruto-" he began, only to be interrupted.

"No, seriously, sensei. I can't say. Classified like whoa." He grimaced. "I probably shouldn't have said what I did say, so if you could forget it, it'd be really appreciated."

Sakura seemed to have regained her equilibrium slightly. "Full break down of Shizuka's seven point five seal," she demanded, and Naruto twitched.

"We're _teammates_," he said, and she folded her arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said mildly. "Who was it who demanded half of my black book in return for keeping _my_ secret?"

"Fine, fine," Naruto grumbled. "Equal from this point and teammate guarantee of secrets from now on?"

"Done," Sakura nodded firmly. There was a pause and they both eyed Sasuke, Sakura chewing her lip slightly in worry.

_He wouldn't? _she signed briefly to Naruto, in the snap fingered movements that 'Kenshin's kids' had designed years ago.

_He would_, Naruto signed back. _Clan stupid_.

"I can trust you, right Sasuke?" he said, his eyes wide and beseeching. "I mean, as an Uchiha you must understand the importance of classified information."

Sasuke hesitated, and then nodded with careful weight. "Of course. You _are_ my teammate."

Naruto draped his arms over Sakura. "He'll tell," he breathed in her ear. "But his clan already know the basics, and at least he'll feel guilty about it now."

Sakura elbowed him hard, and he crumpled in on himself.

"Seven point five seal?" Kakashi questioned, sounding interested, and Naruto shrugged from his position flopped on the grass.

"It's this seal array Hiroshi Shizuka invented," Naruto said, his voice darkening slightly over the name.

"You don't sound too fond of her," Sasuke said more than asked. The question was in the slight tilt of his head, which was more than sufficient for his team-mates to understand.

"It varies," Naruto said thoughtfully. "On the one hand, she's pretty much my annoying older sister that doesn't live with the family anymore. Also, she sells us discount seals, and for that I'd probably forgive her if she decided that she was secretly Uchiha Madara on a quest to destroy Konoha through various improbable plot lines."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and Naruto shrugged.

"On the other hand," he said, "She thinks it's funny to humiliate me in front of everyone I know and she stole my one true love. I kinda hate her for both of those things."

Sasuke faltered slightly, glancing over at Sakura, who grinned wryly. "Naruto has a massive crush on Inuzuka Hana and can't get over the fact that she's a lesbian."

"Oi, oi," Naruto protested. "Like you're any better." He looked at Sasuke, a grin on his face. "She had this massive crush on my dad for _ages_. It was so awkward."

"I did not!" Sakura shrieked in protest, a kunai suddenly in her hand and being brandished dangerously near Naruto's face. Kakashi managed to steal the remains of Naruto's lunch as the meal degenerated into a brawl from there, Sasuke being dragged into it against his self-preservation.

* * *

"Hey," Naruto said, brushing grass out of his hair. "Where's my lunch gone?"

"An enemy ninja ran off with it while you were brawling," Kakashi deadpanned from behind his book. Naruto blinked, derailed from his thoughts and shook his head.

"What-?"

"All nice and recovered from your morning's work?" Kakashi said cheerfully, not bothering to wait for an answer. "Great! Well, we're now going to work on team co-ordination because you all suck at it. So to start off with – trust exercises!"

"Is this where we fall back and trust our partners to catch us?" Sakura said, thoroughly unimpressed.

Kakashi matched her look. "That's a _civilian _exercise Sakura," he said patronisingly. "Do you see any civilians here?"

Sakura flushed a dull pink, much to Kakashi's satisfaction. About to continue, he stilled at the flicker of chakra that pulsed just inside his range. "One moment," he said, waiting for the messenger to come out now that he'd been recognised.

It was a chuunin Kakashi barely recognised; Tono, Tinbo, something similar. He had bandages wrapped around his eyes, but Kakashi had a niggling suspicion that he wasn't nearly as blind as he was pretending – a Hyuuga perhaps? Naruto straightened from where he sat, as the chuunin sent a short bow in Kakashi's direction.

"Your pardon Hatake-san," he said quietly. "I've been sent to fetch Hideyoshi-kun. His presence is required by superiors."

Kakashi frowned even as Naruto scrambled to his feet. "Isn't my permission required regarding my genin?" he inquired suspiciously, and the chuunin bowed his head again.

"Not in these situations, Hatake-san. We assure you your genin will be ready for duty tomorrow morning. Hideyoshi-kun?"

Naruto held a hand out to the chuunin, shrugging awkwardly at his teammates. "Sorry guys," he apologised. "See you tomorrow, I guess."

They vanished with a fast _shunshin_, leaving behind a very confused team.

"Okay, _what_?" Sakura said, vocalising both Sasuke and Kakashi's thoughts. "That was just odd."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "Change of plan, kids," he said. "Run five laps around Konoha, then you're dismissed for the rest of the day." He was going _investigating.

* * *

_

"Naruto," Ibiki said, straightening the files on his desk. Naruto sat in front of him, swinging his legs slightly.

"Ibiki," he mimicked, a wide grin on his face.

"Attack. Daimyo again," Ibiki grunted, and Naruto flinched.

"He must be _pissed_."

"Something like that," Ibiki said. "Have there been any slips recently?" he enquired, keeping his eyes on Naruto's hands warily. Naruto managed to fight down the slight hurt he felt at the lack of trust.

"Well, I had to resist the urge to poke Sasuke in the forehead and call him little brother," Naruto deadpanned. There was a pause, while Ibiki stared at him. "That was a joke," he explained. "It might not have been a particularly funny one, but-"

Ibiki made a note on his clipboard.

Naruto sighed in defeat. "No real slips, no," he said in easy report. "I've not gone deep since last time though, so that might change."

"Oh?" Ibiki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm guessing that that's why you called me here, considering the attack and all," Naruto said, letting out a noise of outrage at the annoyance that slid onto Ibiki's face. "I haven't okay? I _know _that I don't use it on Intel. officers, you know I don't do it anymore so stop _doing_ that."

"Tonbo," Ibiki said, and Naruto grumbled.

"I was young and foolish," he said defiantly. "I know better now."

They looked at each other, and Ibiki inclined his head slightly. He pulled a syringe out of a draw and laid it on the desk in front of them, and Naruto fought back a shudder.

"Okay, okay," he muttered. "Just – give me a minute." His leaned back, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as Ibiki watched. It didn't take long – less than the minute Naruto had asked for. His shoulders settled into straight-backed discipline and his eyes were narrow and alert when he opened them again.

"Settled?" Ibiki asked, and Naruto gave a crisp affirmative.

Ibiki pulled a clipboard in front of him and nodded slightly. "Presume you are Uchiha Itachi," he said, his voice falling into the low thrum of a genjutsu specialist at work. "You have attacked the Daimyo's place of residence, murdering another person. Why have you done so?"

Naruto hummed slightly. "If I were Uchiha Itachi…" he said thoughtfully. "Well, I've already decided that this whole existence is some massive genjutsu lie, because I'm freakin' insane like that. I'm going after the Daimyo because…" he made a face, and then shrugged. "Maybe throwing the… genjutsu into enough chaos will force its release? Introducing enough variables that the initial caster hasn't accounted for will overload it, allowing for an otherwise weaker opponent to exploit the flaws and escape." As he spoke, he dropped the rougher accent, falling into the crisp tones the Uchiha clan as a whole were so fond of. "I do not try to throw the country into complete anarchy yet, however, because I wish to see the failsafe that may have been installed; it may be too powerful for me to deal with directly. As I test the boundaries of the genjutsu more thoroughly, more powerful guardians will be sent to 'deal' with me. It is important to know the limits of these guardians; if the genjutsu is sustained by my subconscious, which would seem increasingly more likely as time goes on, it is possible that the guardians will also be drawn from my experience. If that is the case, sufficient mental discipline should allow me to overcome the guardians eventually. However, if the guardians show abilities that I am not aware of, it is possible that the genjutsu is externally sustained, which would require more careful consideration."

Ibiki's face looked like it could have been carved out of stone.

"I do not wish to engage with Konoha ninja yet," Naruto said, certain. "I am aware that my previous attempt to do so failed overwhelmingly, indicating-" he frowned, screwing his face up. "Indicating-" A full-body twitch ran through him. "Ibiki-san," Naruto said, his voice carefully calm in a way it never normally was. "I believe it would be wise to put me under now."

Ibiki grimaced, his scars pulling grotesquely at his face, but reached for a syringe already filled with a bright blue liquid. Naruto obediently placed his left arm on the desk without being asked for it, and watched dispassionately as the needle sunk in. He breathed in carefully, once, twice, before his head slumped forward onto his chest and consciousness left. Ibiki watched him for a moment, before pressing a button on his radio. "Please send for Hideyoshi Kenshin," he said crisply. "His son needs to be picked up."

* * *

"Genma!" Kakashi said cheerfully as he entered the records room. The special jounin was sprawled out on one of the desks, several files spread out in front of him. "How pleasant to see you again! Shouldn't you be with your minions?"

From the look of wariness spreading across his face, the senbon he was chewing on whirling from side-to-side agitatedly, Genma didn't agree. It was possible he was remembering the _last_ time he'd seen Kakashi; Kakashi vaguely remembered him ending up in a rather compromising position with Anko, in a place that was probably more public than either of the two had preferred. He was fairly sure that he hadn't been responsible for that particular incident, but it was so hard persuading people of the fact.

Particularly when he'd sent round the photos the morning after.

"Kakashi," Genma said unhappily. "What do you want? And no, my minions are with Masaru today. Shouldn't you be with _your _minions?"

"My minions are fine by themselves," Kakashi said dismissively. "And as for what I want, nothing much. World peace, free porn, Kiku-chan from Icha Icha Violence in my bed… Also, Hideyoshi Naruto's file."

Genma raised an eyebrow, before smirking. "No can do."

"What?" Kakashi said.

"It's classified!" Genma sang happily, before pausing. "Man, I have been waiting _so long_ to say that to you. Ever since you were this twelve-year-old bratty jounin…"

"Funny," Kakashi said dryly. "Now, if we could be serious…?"

Genma sniggered. "What's funny is that you think I'm _not_ being serious."

"Genma," Kakashi said, irritated. "He's on my team. It's a security risk if I don't know my students' full capabilities."

Genma blinked. "You _passed_ them? Seriously? Naruto was given to you because they thought it was pretty certain you were going to fail him."

"They wanted him to fail?" Kakashi asked, intrigued despite himself. "Because of the…?"

"Classified!" Genma sang in the exact same tones as he had before. "That is _never_ going to get old," he said with glee after a moment, watching Kakashi's eyebrow twitch a minute amount.

Kakashi took a few deliberate breaths, reminding himself that killing his own comrades was not conducive to passing the annual psych-review. "If I were to go over past council sessions, as past member-" he began, and Genma shook his head.

"This is outside of council purview," he said bluntly.

"Then _Sandaime-sama _wanted him to fail?" Kakashi demanded, incredulous.

Genma kept his mouth stubbornly shut. "_Genma,_" Kakashi said, near pleading and the man winced.

"Look, I've already said too much," he muttered reluctantly, after a few seconds. "But…" he chewed on his senbon nervously. "Council session 357, the one just after Uchiha Itachi went missing-nin…" He looked at Kakashi intently. "It won't give you the information exactly, but it'll give you a clue. And I'm only telling you this because you're his jounin-sensei."

Kakashi nodded, and Genma's mouth tightened. "I'm _serious_ Kakashi. If anything you find out goes _anywhere_, and I'm including your other baby genin in this, I'll silence you myself."

Kakashi stilled – it was far from an idle threat. Genma had earned his position as Special Jounin through his ability with poison, and even Kakashi's nose and paranoia wouldn't keep him safe from someone who had access to all of his food supplies. "I… understand," he said, after a beat, inclining his head, and Genma relaxed slightly.

"So," he said cheerfully after a moment, "Where would I find these mysterious council session records?"

Genma groaned. "I hate you," he said despairingly. "I hate you _so much_."

Kakashi beamed.

* * *

Naruto woke groggily, trying to blink away the headache that always came with the sedative Ibiki used. His stomach churned a little, before settling uncertainly. Dark curtains were drawn against the sun, but Naruto could see glimpses of red and purple creeping beneath them – he must have been out a good few hours for the sun to be setting. He sat up slowly, letting the inevitable blood rush sink against him before he swung his feet off the side of his bed. He was in his boxers, having been stripped of all other clothing and Naruto pulled his face at the thought of having to get dressed. He took an unsteady step, rolled his shoulders and managed to pull on the sweatpants and t-shirt that had been left out for him.

There was the quiet click of the door behind him, and Naruto sighed. "Hey Neji," he said, his normally boisterous voice toned down to a whisper in respect for his head.

"Naruto," Neji murmured quietly, stepping closer. "Kenshin-san wishes to know if you'll be able to stomach food."

Naruto wrinkled his nose at the thought, but nodded. "Should be fine." He rested a hand on Neji's arm that had been extended without question, and shuffled into the main room, flinching slightly against the light.

Kenshin looked up from a low discussion with Inoichi, which Ino had been chipping in to sporadically. Shinko, Ino's mother, was moving around the corner which homed the kitchen, filling the flat with the unusual smell of edible food that wasn't take-out.

"Feeling alright?" Kenshin asked, and Naruto took a moment to grin at his dad, even if Kenshin couldn't see it.

Kenshin's black hair was mussed and overgrown – no doubt Shinko or Ino would nag him into a haircut soon enough, and Naruto would end up cutting it with typical disregard for style. He had a pair of black sunglasses on, courtesy of one of Ino's determined shopping sprees, and had a Konoha headband tied around his left arm. Naruto raised his hand to where his own forehead protector should rest, finding it absent – probably left on the table to the side of his bed.

"Yeah," Naruto said, settling into the seat next to him. "Headache, but that's normal." He looked at Neji. "You eating with us?"

"Shinko-san insisted," Neji said with the barest twitch of a smile and Shinko nodded, smiling fondly at her daughter and her friends.

"Sometimes I think you'd all starve if left to your own devices," she said with amusement, and Naruto grinned.

"Starving's probably better than eating Dad's food – hey, hey, injured here."

Kenshin snorted, ceasing his impromptu headlock. "Ungrateful brat," he grumbled, and Ino giggled.

"How's your jounin-sensei?" she asked, and Naruto feigned shock.

"He was nearly _on time_ today," he said. "I think he's doing it just to mess with me."

Inoichi chuckled softly. "That would be very like Hatake Kakashi."

Kenshin stiffened slightly. "Your jounin-sensei is Hatake Kakashi?" he asked quietly, and Naruto winced.

"And my teammates are Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, and I know how you feel about him, but the only other choice was failing and I really, really didn't want to do that so-"

Kenshin raised a hand, his face expressionless. "I understand," he said. "You made the right choice."

Naruto let out a relieved sigh, and Shinko frowned as she watched over a pan. "Why didn't you know who his teammates were before, Kenshin?" she asked, curious.

"I wasn't here last night," Kenshin explained. "Some idiot rookie ANBU trapped himself in a self-sustained genjutsu and it took until ten this morning to unravel it."

Inoichi made a sound of commiseration.

"Which other teams passed?" Kenshin asked, and Naruto bit his lip.

"Uh, mine did, obviously. Ino's did – Ino-Shika-Chou, under Asuma. Ayame and Daisuke did, under Shiranui Genma – except they were saying it was this weird double sensei thing, and they've actually got another jounin-sensei, one of the Inuzuka. Apparently they're splitting the duty or something. Ayame sounded a bit irritated about it."

"Hinata-sama's team passed also," Neji said, his voice carefully impassive. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of Hyuugas, how's the brat?" Naruto asked with a grin, and Neji's mouth twisted.

"You should not refer to Hanabi-sama in such a way, Naruto," he reprimanded, and Ino snorted.

"Didn't stop you from knowing who he meant though, did it?" she grinned, and Neji faltered slightly. "Ah, give it up, Neji-chan," Ino cooed cheerfully, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We know the real you. You can't pull the sombre Hyuuga warrior trick on _us_."

"He can't pull it on anyone who saw last year's festival photos either," Naruto said cheerfully, and Neji scowled.

"You said you burnt those!" he said. There was a long pause.

"…And you believed me?"

Neji huffed in exasperation, prying Ino's arms away from him and carefully ignoring the amusement of the adults around them.

"How is your team doing, Neji?" Inoichi asked mildly, and Neji met the pupilless blue eyes carefully, thinking over his answer.

"We are well," he said after a moment. "Our lack of a ninjutsu specialist may cause some issues in the future, however. I would try to move into the role myself, but-"

There were nods of acknowledgment at what was remaining unsaid. "Gai-sensei remains a competent teacher, but I fear he concentrates overly much on individual accomplishment," Neji said. "I cannot foresee our team remaining together past chuunin, and I am uncertain that we will be prepared for a position of command when the opportunity arises."

Inoichi hummed thoughtfully, glancing over to Kenshin. "A fair assessment," he acknowledged. "Gai does produce combat-competent ninja, certainly."

"Not all team genin _need_ to be leaders," Kenshin said, and Inoichi's mouth twisted unhappily.

"They are being prepared for jounin eventually," he disagreed. "All should be comfortable in the position of command at the very least – too many jounin-sensei skimp on preparing their genin for this."

"We could continue with the team competitions," Ino piped up hopefully. "Capture the flag and everything. _They _help prepare us for missions, and we could shuffle around and see if there's anyone who won't take command at all."

"Gai-sensei would be… enthusiastic about the prospect," Neji said after a moment, a tinge of hope in his voice. He'd always been a little envious of the bi-monthly competitions held that he'd never been able to participate in – Kenshin had only introduced them the year before, and Neji had been restrained to team practice at that point.

"Dunno about Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke, but me an' Sakura would definitely be up for it," Naruto said cheerfully. "All it needs is a group of us getting together and finding some time, really." He paused for a moment and wrinkled his nose. "Might not be easy getting free time, I guess. Kakashi-sensei wants to run us into the ground. We're working on speed training at the moment."

"Weights?" Neji asked, openly empathetic, and Naruto winced.

"Not yet. I'm hopin' no one suggests it to him either."

Ino's grin became wicked, and Naruto levelled a glare at her. Shinko clattered a plan deliberately, ignoring Naruto's cringe, and stared at the group sitting in the kitchen with some disapproval. "I believe there has been _enough _ninja talk for one evening," she said firmly. "Now, Kenshin dear, if you wouldn't mind helping me with the plates…"

* * *

The waves broke noisily against the cliff-face, launching a spray of salt-water into the air. The small teenager that sat dangling his legs off the top was drenched to the skin, his red hair plastered against his head. A gourd of sand was set back from the spray of water, resting against a wind-worn tree.

"Gaara-sama," a woman said, half-breathless as she approached him. "I was worried when I couldn't find you." She wore a grey flak jacket, zipped up to her neck, and a hitae-ate was tied around her leg, the symbol obscured slightly by a smear of mud.

"Sayuri," Gaara acknowledged, toneless. He did not take his eyes off the horizon. "There is a storm building."

Sayuri sat down beside him, his head not even reaching her shoulders. "It is," she said respectfully. "Preparations have already been made, so it will not cause undue damage." There was a note of reassurance in her voice; a faint smile touching her lips.

Gaara nodded once, and they sat in silence for a few minutes, watching together.

"If I may," Sayuri began hesitantly, gaining confidence when Gaara did not silence her. "Why do you come here so often?"

He sighed through his nose, staring out at the sea. "_He_ is quieter here," Gaara said finally. "I think he fears the water."

Sayuri watched him with a tilted head, faint incomprehension mixed with utter faith visible on her face. She did not push him further, but the silence begged further explanation.

Gaara blinked slowly, before directing dispassionate eyes up at the woman. "It is comforting to know that there is something even _they _fear." He pushed himself to his feet. "Come. They will be waiting for us."

Sayuri took her place at his shoulder with a practiced grace, regaining her feet without a sound. "As you wish, Gaara-sama," she said without hesitation, and a small smile flickered across Gaara's face.


End file.
